By Maduka Nweke
It was a worrisome coincidence as Lagos recorded its first building collapse in 2024 while members of Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) were embarking on a walk against building collapse in Lagos.
Speaking on the incident, an advocate of standard building construction, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, said the collapse of the four-storey building under renovation at 1, Isale Gangan Street, Lagos, while members of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria were holding their Annual General Meeting was unfortunate.
Awobodu, a former national president, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) and BCPG, stated that it could be very disturbing when a well-planned sensitisation walk was welcomed by torrential rain in the dry season.
According to him, BCPG members from different cells in Lagos, defied the rain and assembled at the takeoff point. The messages on the banners were to sensitise the public on the need to adhere to standard building construction in order to prevent building collapse.
He said: “The walk was also aimed at drawing the attention of the government to the rise in the prices of building materials that could tempt developers to compromise on standards. Suddenly, the news of building collapse during the sensitisation walk against building collapse doused the enthusiasm of BCPG members.
“A developer that was operating on Lagos Island once confessed that the rains usually deprive him of sound sleep. But should the rain be held responsible for the incessant collapse of buildings in a coastal region like Lagos? Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) buildings are the most affected by rain in Lagos. Why? Contrary to the belief that rain is an agent of destruction; rain assists in the determination of building stability. A building that can withstand heavy rains will surely stand the test of time. Rain, therefore, helps subject the quality of materials and workmanship used in a building to unbiased verification,” he said.
Awobodu noted that the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Building Control Agency ( LASBCA) have a lot to do in identifying weak buildings and preventing construction of substandard buildings.
He said, “Building Collapse Prevention Guild, as a pressure group, should intensify its advocacy against the menace of building collapse, and address, professionally, causes of building collapse. As reiterated during my address at the REDAN 2024 AGM, the need to bring developers together in an association that promotes standard building construction will definitely add value to investment in the Nigerian housing sector.
“The latest collapsed building at Isale Gangan, Lagos Island occupies the 595th position in the updated BCPG Record of collapsed buildings in Nigeria. The number of recorded buildings that collapsed in Lagos State since 1974 is now 341, which is 57.3 per cent of the national figure. Building collapse, mostly, is as a result of human error that could have been prevented. The latest collapsed building at Isale Gangan is a harbinger of metamorphosed inadequacies that plague implementation of building regulations in Lagos State,” he advised.