Following the collapse of a six-story building in Maryland , Lagos, the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) has called on the State government to begin enforcement of compulsory building insurance immediately.
The body also urged the Lagos State government to begin implementation of the various building control measures which were already embedded in the laws of the State, noting that when preparation for an event takes too long, people tend to lose interest.
Chairman of BCPG and member of the State’s 2010 physical planning, urban regeneration and building control law committee, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, told LEADERSHIP yesterday in Lagos that the magnificent building in Maryland that collapsed recently brought back the fundamental question of how many poorly constructed but well decorated buildings existed in the state geographical sphere.
He said, “No affirmative response. Nobody knows. Yet some buildings deficient in durability, accidents waiting to happen are within unidentified. It is just an evidence of our past lapses, negligence that will take time and commitment to overcome. This is a serious and sensitive assignment that must not be politicised, no sentiments.”
He noted that debris at the site of the Maryland failed structure brought to the fore the persisting issue of substandard materials, poor workmanship and lack of construction professional inputs.
“Was the building designed to carry such massive billboards considering the debilitating wind pressure? What were the effects of the intermittent construction activities? Did the structure suffer any stress from the past bomb explosion in the neighbouring military cantonment?” he asked.
Former chairman of the Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos chapter, Awobodu, who is also the chief executive at Lagos-based Reo-Habilis Construction Ltd. recommended that a special supervision programme must be devoted to high rise building construction, adding that government should not limit itself to building approval, but also endeavour to monitor the high rise building construction.
“Such magnitude of project should be limited to reputable construction firms. It should not be by direct labour. But unfortunately, the government does not have enough man power to monitor building construction in a vast area such like Lagos. Our concern over the years has been that while we mourn our losses in a collapsed building, construction of substandard buildings continues in that neighbourhood or locality unchecked.
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