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As Nigeria marks 65 years of Independence, British-Nigerian lawyer, academic, and international consultant Abiola Aderibigbe called for a new kind of freedom—one measured by safe buildings, compliant construction, enforceable standards, and public trust. In his Independence Day message, he greeted Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, framing safety as a national duty.
“Happy Independence Day to all Nigerians at home and abroad! Our parents and grandparents won political freedom. Our generation must now make that independence meaningful by protecting lives and restoring trust in our buildings and infrastructure,” he said.
Renowned across the international built environment as an international construction law expert and an international project and development finance expert, Aderibigbe is a multi-award-winning practitioner and educator. He teaches on the LLM in International Construction Law delivered by Informa Connect in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, and on finance-focused programmes with the International Faculty of Finance (IFF). He serves as Faculty Director, Course Director, and Module Leader across multiple global programmes.
He is one of the loudest voices behind a proposed Nigerian Construction Act. His advocacy, which gained popular traction from national dailies such as The Nation, Independent, and Vanguard covering it in early September, intensified after the Yaba building collapse, the Afriland Towers fire, the Alimosho collapse in Lagos, and the Awka incident in Anambra—tragedies he describes as “nationwide, not localised,” and proof that “without urgent reform, Nigerians remain at daily risk.”
Aderibigbe also praised the calls from Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in July 2025 for a unified building code. He welcomed the Governor’s position but explained that Nigeria must go further:
“I was so delighted when His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for unified building codes in July! As someone I deeply admire, His Excellency’s position regarding the need for striking action in dealing with these issues is spot on! Given the current state of the industry, however, and following His Excellency’s lead, I believe Nigeria as a whole needs to go beyond unified building codes. A national Construction Act would harmonise fragmented laws at federal and state level—embedding safety, payment certainty, and governance safeguards in one statute.”
Aderibigbe’s proposed Act rests on a five-part legislative architecture—his “Five Co-Equal Pillars”—designed to unify standards, enforce compliance, and restore public trust:
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Register and grade contractors to professionalise the industry.
Enforce Health Safety and Environment (HSE) standards as statutory duties.
Embed governance and anti-corruption safeguards for transparency.
Guarantee payment timelines and statutory adjudication to secure cash flow and reduce disputes.
Mandate skills transfer and local content to build capacity.
While there have been parallel calls for reform, Aderibigbe’s five-pillar blueprint for a single, unified Construction Act is presented as the first integrated legislative framework of its kind publicly advanced in Nigeria. He explained that the reforms would save lives, unlock billions for the government, and attract further billions in private and development finance by aligning the sector with private and multilateral lenders’ expectations and improving project bankability across roads, power, and housing.
“Our parents and grandparents fought for independence from colonial rule. Our generation must fight for a safer, stronger Nigeria where every building is worthy of the flag it stands under. A Construction Act is not just legal reform; it’s how we make independence real. In construction, building safety means saving lives,” he said.
Aderibigbe urged swift action by both state and federal authorities to address the urgent state of building and construction safety nationwide.
