…As MDAs spend huge sums to erect new buildings, rent expensive offices
• Experts proffer solutions, set roadmap
By Enyeribe Ejiogu and Maduka Nweke
For decades since it was built, at the end of Marina Street, towards the Tafawa Balewa Complex on Lagos Island, the once iconic and legendary NITEL Building was the cynosure of all eyes.
As a skyscraper, it was the most easily identifiable structure that could be seen during the day by passengers sitting close to the windows of commercial planes flying out of Lagos from the Muritala Muhammad International Airport.
Hundreds of visitors and students on excursion usually thronged that end of Marina to have a glimpse of the 32-floor building, which stands at a height of 160 meters. It was completed in 1979 by the General Olusegun Obasanjo military regime. At the time of completion it was the tallest building in West Africa.
The communications spire at the top of the tower serves as a lighthouse beacon for the Lagos Harbour. The height of the communication tower, from the base to the tip is equivalent to five floors. If these “floors” were added to the other real 32, the total number would be 37 floors.
It was then known as the Nigeria External Telecommunications Limited (NET Building) and later became NITEL after the splitting of the old Posts and Telecommunications (P & T) resulting in the ‘telecom’ part becoming NITEL Limited, a fully-owned commercial venture of the Federal Government.
The name of the building has also undergone metamorphosis through the years, from NET Building to NITEL Tower and finally NECOM House after the stalled privatisation.
During a recent visit to the abandoned structure, Sunday Sun learnt from someone knowledgeable about the building, but who pleaded anonymity, that problems ensued when NITEL was sold to private individuals.
He said that aside from the new buyer’s inability to secure the franchise of a big mobile network, the company was not able to maintain the gigantic edifice. Again, there was a legal battle between the company and another faceless corporate entity. The contestation in the court has stalled the occupation of the building by any group.
The source stated that for more than 17 years, the building has been occupied by scavengers, hoodlums, kidnappers and men of the underworld who use the edifice as a transit spot.
“The government of this country called Nigeria is not sensitive to the plight of the poor masses. That building is enough to feed more than two local governments if utilized properly. But because they are comfortable, they don’t care about what happens,” he said.
Again, another capital project that has been abandoned is the building opposite Murtala Muhammad Airport 2 (MM2) in Ikeja.
Incidentally, the second domestic terminal was built by Bi-Courtney. The structure which has a solid concrete, glass-enclosed aerial walkway that directly links it with the MM2 was intended to be a four-star hotel offering safe and pleasant accommodation to visitors and other Nigerians arriving late at night.
It was also intended to provide executive offices for short lettings. But the building has been abandoned, uncompleted. Immediately after the concessioning of the airport, there was confusion everywhere.
In an interaction with Sunday Sun on the issue of neglected or seemingly abandoned Federal property, an alumnus of The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who is an Estate Surveyor and Valuer with 30 years cognate experience in property management, Pastor Stephen Ozili, said that the primary concern about Federal Government property in Lagos and by extension, the whole country is what he referred to as “nobody’s business syndrome.”
He explained that this syndrome accumulated from the following factors: “Projects being perceived as cashcow from every next-in-rank, turn-by-turn; ineffective planning and management from the onset; lack of interest in huge government investment costs by those in authority. Stakeholders are not interested in the huge investment but only how it will benefit them before leaving office; lack of maintenance culture and so on.
“These are common knowledge to all of us. The professionals that are trained to manage these property, such as Estate Surveyors and Valuers, most times, are sidelined. The irony of it is that all the professionals in building industries are there to tap their knowledge and use the same effective management of these programmes.
“There are Federal Government property that have been doing relatively well as a result of government partnership with the private sector. Years back, I participated in the valuation exercise of some of them, like Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) non-core property at Apapa, National Theatre and Lagos Trade Fair Complex. Some have been handed over for management on concessionary terms and they are doing relatively well while others like the National Stadium, Lagos, remain in a ‘sorry’ state.
“The best option for maximum returns on these wasting investment property is for the government to partner with the private sector to operate, manage and account for the same. Proper management is what is required, by putting round pegs in round holes. Accountability produces great results with the required supervision.
“When you concession a project without adequate monitoring, it is as good as not starting it in the first place. It is advisable to engage the right professionals, monitor their operations in line with the rules of engagement, then you will get the best out of these huge and wasting investments.”
Another high value property of the government which has turned into a waste asset is the Federal Secretariat in Obalende, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Prevention Guild (BCPG) Ikoyi, Obalende Cell, recently brought to the attention of the Federal Government the deteriorating state of the Federal Government property, which is within the Ikoyi oversight view of the government, headed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose private house is located on Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi, which is also within the oversight area of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
In a statement made available to Sunday Sun and jointly signed by Mr Bola Arilesere and Mr Adebola Adeyera, coordinator and secretary respectively of BCPG, Ikoyi-Obalende Cell, commended the remarkable transformation which Ikoyi has undergone from its historical roots as a residential area for British colonial officials and expatriates.
BCPG particularly noted that the dilapidation and vandalisation of abandoned or unmaintained Federal Government buildings in the area vastly increases their potential to collapse.
The statement by BCPG conveyed the concern of the professional body: “The modern Ikoyi now boasts of significant infrastructural development, including the construction of contemporary high-rise buildings, luxurious waterfront buildings, upscale shopping centres, and recreational facilities, establishing it as a premier residential and commercial destination in Lagos.
“As a focal point of cosmopolitan development in the state, building collapse was a rare phenomenon in the Ikoyi axis of Lagos. In those days, Ikoyi was noted for strict adherence to building regulations.
“From our records, Ikoyi has experienced five incidents of building collapse. The first reported case of building collapse in Ikoyi was at 6A, Milverton Close, in 2006. The building collapsed as a result of the dilapidation of the car park steel beams. Lack of maintenance was the cause of the first building collapse in Ikoyi. The second incident was the collapse of a semi-detached residential building at 19A and 19B, HFB Way, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi on 18th April, 2015, caused by the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder.
“The third collapse happened on 1st November, 2019 when a building under construction collapsed at the Glover Court. The project was in its third storey with columns in place for subsequent floor(s) when it collapsed, claiming the life of one person. The fourth collapse was the tragic collapse of a 20-storey (wrongfully and severally described as a 21-storey) building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, on 1st November, 2021, killing not less than 52 persons.
“Then, the fifth was the collapse of the proposed nine-storey building (including the penthouse) while construction work was ongoing on its 7th floor (this was widely reported as ‘7-storey building’ at Plot L15 and L16, Close 102, First Avenue, Banana Island on 12th April, 2023, taking the life of one person. It is our earnest prayer that such preventable tragedies would not occur during your tenure as the president of this nation.
“From our analysis, we observed that in all the cases of collapse-during-construction in Ikoyi in the past four years, all of them were built by developers. A worrisome common denominator for the three buildings that collapsed under construction was the obvious flouting of building regulations with no government officials held accountable contrary to the outcomes of investigations. Next factor is the need for building and services maintenance.
“Mr. President, horrors of building collapse witnessed are preventable. We recall that you visited the gory site of building collapse on the Gerrard Road, Ikoyi on 6th November, 2021 where you addressed the rescuers and BCPG representatives on ground and sympathised with Lagosians. There is the need to curtail the excesses of unscrupulous developers with no regard for quality and human lives.
“Building occupants and owners, including the Federal Government, should also be seen to demonstrate this commitment to building maintenance.
“Some neglected Federal Government buildings in our neighbourhood have become havens for criminals, illicit drug peddlers, squatters, and illegal occupants, tarnishing the reputation of Ikoyi. We are concerned that lack of occupancy and regular maintenance are contributing to their dilapidation. We also know that steel scrap thieves and vandals are becoming widespread. Steel structural components in abandoned buildings and under bridges have become their target. Hence, blighted Federal Government buildings could be at risk over time. Notable among these abandoned Federal Government buildings is the multi-storey Federal Secretariat Complex, Ikoyi, an expired symbol of national pride in its prime.
“Also, we have the Ikoyi Towers (another Federal Government property, comprising three blocks of 12 floors labelled A, B, and C behind the abandoned Federal Secretariat). These multi-billion public investments should not be allowed to go to waste, especially at a time when the affordable housing sector is in crisis. In view of the negative social, economic, safety, and security implications of such blighted buildings in any high-brow neighbourhood, we urge you, Mr. President, to leverage your influence to foster the rejuvenation of the decaying infrastructure in Ikoyi. In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the interests of Nigerians, we implore you to intervene and facilitate the revitalisation of the dilapidated Federal Secretariat, surmounting bureaucratic hurdles and legal complexities to salvage the economic waste of such monumental buildings. These national monuments should unfold benefits to tax-paying Nigerians and not become a burden on the neighbourhood.”