By Maduka Nweke, [email protected]
Lagos again, recorded another incidence of collapsed building at First Avenue, Banana Island, Ikoyi, on Wednesday April 12, 2023 when a seven storey mansion under construction caved for a yet to be identified reason.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on ground at the time PropertyMart visited the site confirmed the unfortunate incident happened in the area of the city believed to be populated by the elite.
An official of the agency who did not want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said the cause of the incident was still being investigated. This was as Banana Island Property Owners & Residents Association, Lagos issued a statement that no life was lost.
“We write to confirm the collapse of a building under construction in the commercial zone of our estate.
We also affirm that all agencies of the Lagos State Government are on ground and in control of operations at the affected site and to ensure the safety of lives.
It is also important to state that, as at the time of this communique, no death were recorded.
We want to assure all residents that the situation is under control and the Estate office is working closely with the State Government response and emergency team to ensure the safety of all. We shall update you with further developments as soon as possible.” The residents association stated.
But some stakeholders who spoke to PropertyMart on the incessant building collapse in the country are of the opinion that government is always to blame.
One of the respondents, Chief M I Okoro, said that most clients often like to cut corners to save cost. Often times they begin to circumvent some of the things that should be highlighted. That is among the reasons we have building collapse.
Another stakeholders, Mr. Ademolu Oyenuga, Chief Executive Officer, Kalyteros Nigeria Limited added that, the fact that land has become more expensive with government not evolving or responding to town planning development, developer would always consider expenditures and build them into the cost of accommodation.
According to him, when a developer have to provide infrastructure like roads, water and electricity to the vicinity, the cost of accommodation there would no longer be what we consider as affordable because developers would also like to be in business and not fold up after that. He noted that dragging the
Speaking specifically about Lagos, Oyenuga said that Lagos infrastructure was as the colonial masters planned them when the population of Lagos was mere 5 million people. He said that the same plan is holding a population of over 26 million people today.
He said that with population escalation, provision would have been made to suit the surging population.
“In building collapse, government, developer and the contractor are all culpable. They are culpable in the sense that for one to get building plan approval, he would have to wait and wait.
Nonso Ume-Ezeoke, Chief Executive Officer, Orchid Court, Ikeja for his own blamed collapse building on faulty structural designs that do not match the topography of the area. He said that bulk of causes of collapse buildings are the result of substandard building materials, rushed construction work. “Poor project management, weak regulatory framework and control have aided building collapse. If there is no control from the authorities, and if the authorities delay building plan approvals, this could put the contractor under tension to meet his deadline thereby bringing about rushed work.
Some other Nigerians who spoke on the Lekki Gardens building collapse were of the opinion that the treatment meted to the chairman was action of overzealous government agencies. They agreed that the damage was of a magnitude but that the same law is made for both the rich and the poor. They queried why another would commit a sin and would be left alone but when another commits same of fence, he would thrown into jail out rightly. This, they said smarks of acute injustice.
Also the vice chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Adelaja Adekanbi, said that Lekki Gardens, owners of the collapsed building which left 34 people dead, unprofessionally added the last two floors of the building, against professional advice, adding that the builders failed to put up a stable structure.
According to him, “All the work that has been done here is nothing to write home about; it’s work that was done under no supervision, under no professional engineer or builder. Let them bring the engineer or builder that is involved in the construction. The first two building here, I was involved in it; I taught them what to do. They wanted to raise two floors and they did a piling of six metres for this kind of structure so the structural stability is failure and where we are standing, if you don’t know, was purely water two years ago.
“Imagine someone building on water and doing a piling of six metres for a seven-storeyed building. I recommend to Lagos state government that every building here painted or not, should be tested. This house we are looking at should also be pulled down in a week, pointing to a nearby block. If not, we are looking for another trouble. At this point, I recommend that every house here should be tested to ascertain the structural stability because I don’t think they are habitable.”
Meanwhile, the Standard Organisation (SON) led by its Director, Inspectorate and Complaint, Bede Obayi, inspected the collapsed building and others under construction in the area. He ordered for the collection of the different building materials used for the collapsed building such as iron rods, blocks, sand, granites and sea water for laboratory analysis.
“The first thing in a house is the block; from the ones we have examined here, it has failed the test. The construction of this building is not up to 50 metres from the sea, showing that this land was reclaimed from the sea. There are conditions for reclaiming a land from the sea and the kind of building materials to be used in such lands.
“We have to examine all the materials used for this building and see if they meet the condition. You need to also see that the right professionals handled the building project. If you use the best materials without the right professionals handling the materials, things will still go wrong,” he reasoned.