From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
An entrepreneur in Benue State, Mr John Ajikwe, has identified causes of incessant building collapse across the country.
Ajikwe, the Managing Director and co-founder of Big Mummy and Big Daddy Intl Ltd, a building material industry in Makurdi, told newsmen in Makurdi that buildings are collapsing frequently due to the use of substandard products by professionals.
He said, “This is caused by the greed of the people and professionals who are not sticking to standards but prefer to use substandard products for construction.”
He urged developers and professionals to insist and stick to standards and ensure that they patronize companies with standard products.
“Those of us who are maintaining standards and producing standard products should be encouraged instead of patronizing quacks that will risk and endanger the lives of people.”
He called on the government to patronize certified local companies like his and many others for its buildings and road construction materials to ensure quality and excellence.
Ajikwe observed that in spite of the massive construction works going on in the state, the government and contractors prefer to bring in their materials from Nasarawa state and the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Abuja.
“The government alone is constructing a lot. They are bringing chippings from Abuja and Nasarawa. These are rocks that are here that can be crushed and used for this purpose.”
He further urged youths especially those in Benue State to acquire skills so as to take themselves off the streets and live meaningful lives.
Ajikwe expressed concern that most youth in the state are only looking for easy ways to make quick money, saying the vision of his company is to make as many youths as possible to be self-reliant and employers of labour
“Our vision is also to take youths off the street and get them meaningfully engaged in concrete production and every other thing that I do here.
“But the youths are unwilling to come learn the business. They feel they have a degree or a masters degree. I have a masters degree, I’m also a chartered accountant and this is what I do, I have never used any of the certificates for anything anywhere.
“The youths are not willing because Yahoo and anything that can give them money easily. They are not ready to learn a skill that they can use to better their lives. That’s a major challenge.”
He therefore urged the Benue State Government to partner with his company for its youth empowerment training programme and in acquiring quality materials for its projects.
“We want to do empowerment schemes for the youths, We are partners with NDE, and we are certified by ITF to train people, we advertise for skill acquisition, and we want people to come learn the trade.”