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•Seek reduction in high development fees, taxation
Stories by Maduka Nweke
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Apparently not happy that despite efforts at eradicating building collapse in the country, the menace is still living with us, one of the stakeholders in the built environment said the punishment for quacks and defaulting members of the. Speaking to Daily Sun, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, former President, Nigeria Institute of Builders (NIOB) said the news of building collapse in the country causes him night at.
He said that when people are passionate about a cause, performance in a voluntary service becomes remarkable. “What could have motivated BCPG members into doing a work that lacked material gains? In this global village, every news of building collapse causes an incalculable damage to the reputation of the Nigerian built environment professional. He or she is regarded as inferior in the eye of foreign counterparts.
“The price being paid by the Nigerian construction professionals is high in image damaging due to the activities of quacks. Hence, the earlier the menace of building collapse is put to rest, the better for the practitioners in the Nigerian building industry. The spirit of giving back to the industry/society, where we earn our income, in order to uplift our professional image is a form of social responsibility that we naturally align with. Hence, we shall continue to expend our personal resources to fight causes of building collapse. 12 years of collective, relentless and consistent service to humanity! Despite series of disappointment and discouragement, we cannot afford to give up. We are resolute in this mission. There is no man – made problem that defies solution.
“The size of developers has become enormous, thereby overwhelming the government monitoring apparatus. 90 per cent of developers do not belong to the relevant association such as REDAN (Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria); and quite a number of these unregulated developers are very influential. The culture of inducement being promoted by many developers has encouraged compromise in the circles of government officials.
“In the light of the foregoing, we hereby appeal to developers to abide by the building regulations and engage the appropriate professionals in the pre-construction, construction and post- construction stages of building. They should consider the risk involved in building construction more than the gains. Developers embarking on multi-storey building construction should desist from direct labour method and engage the services of reputable construction companies. It is a clever way of mortgaging risk. Subscribers are becoming scared of high- rise buildings constructed by developers. Saving cost at the expense of human life could result in huge financial losses, chorusing the foolhardiness of penny- wise pound foolish.
“We equally appeal to the government to lessen the burden on developers by reducing the high development fees and taxation. Expensive preliminary costs incurred in building plan approval etc tempt developers to cut corners / cheat. Moreover, delays and bureaucratic bottlenecks in building plan approval process embolden developers to commence construction before the approval is granted in order to avert inflation,”he said.
According to BCPG President, Mr. Sulaimon Yusuf, greed is the major weakness of most developers. He stated that is why, for instance, many do not comply with setback requirements for building. We pray to God to help them overcome this evil spirit. “Investment in the housing sector is an important developmental contribution that provides appreciable returns. However, investment in buildings that will not stand the test of time, endangering the lives of occupants, is an investment in futility. Every developer should endeavour to deliver a building with the heart and intention of occupying it by himself or herself.
“Importance of insurance for buildings cannot be overemphasized. Any developer that is in doubt of the stability or quality of building(s) already constructed by him or her should have the courage to contact the relevant professionals for remedy or do the needful by demolishing. Keeping quiet on such defective buildings might spell imponderable disaster for many.
In her contribution, Mrs Adenike Ayanda, Secretary of BCPG said that it is pertinent to seize this opportunity to remind those handling building projects for their relations and friends in the diaspora to bear in mind that God has a way of rewarding sincere people that do not engage in the diversion of project fund to the detriment of building production quality. “Morality and ethics can help raise the bar for our entire building industry. Earnestly, if any of our professional colleagues performs below expectations, please, do not hesitate to report him or her early to the relevant professional regulatory body for necessary disciplinary actions. Those who invest rightly are considered wise developers. May the developers in our building construction realm become wise and lessen the fears of incessant building collapse,”she stated.
