On 12 September 2014, a guesthouse located within the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) premises around the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State collapsed completely to the ground. The collapse took the lives of at least 115 people, 84 of them were South Africans.
At approximately 11 a.m., on December 10, 2016, the Reigners Bible Church International building’s roof collapsed from the center. The church had been under construction until shortly before the incident, with some reports stating that work was unfinished at the time of collapse. The construction had been rushed to prepare the church for the ordination of the local bishop. More than 100 bodies had been seen at the local morgue, and staff at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital reported that 160 people were killed.
By NATIONAL ECONOMY’s research, about five building collapses occur annually around Lagos alone, and scores of others around the country with billions of naira lost every year, and scores of people dead.
Using Lagos as a case study, a report has revealed that between 2017 and 2022, there was a wide range of causes of collapse, from gas explosions to heavy downpours of rain, and even old and dilapidated buildings.
However, the most frequent cause of the building collapse was poor construction, accounting for 36 per cent of the collapses. Old buildings accounted for the second-highest reason for collapse accounting for 20 per cent.
Available record on building collapse incidents in Nigeria shows that between 2011 and 2019, about 84 collapse incidents were recorded and only 21 happened outside Lagos. The report added that 59 per cent of these incidents involved buildings still under construction, while 41 per cent were existing structures.
Consequently, Lagos State Government directed the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Agency (LASPPPA) to stop receiving applications for approval of buildings above three floors in Ebute-Metta area.
In a recent statement, the commissioner for physical planning and urban development, Dr. Idrius Salako, explained this move by stating, “The soil and topography, the low water level and effects as well as the inability of the soil in some areas to bear loads above three floors were considered in arriving at this decision. The government has been compelled to invoke the relevant sections of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2019, as amended, to address the crisis.”
The implication is that considering the vast topographic differential across Nigeria, there is the need to invoke professionalism in building construction across Nigeria.
That brings to the fore, adhering to building codes, which take all of the physical and natural challenges of building into consideration.
In 1987, the Defunct National Council of Works and Housing directed that a National Building Code be evolved for Nigeria. All the stakeholders in the building industry were duly contacted for input. Thereafter the defunct Federal Ministry of Works and Housing organised a national workshop at ASCON, Badagry – Lagos State in 1989.
To further fine-tune the Draft National Building Code, another workshop was held at the Gateway Hotel, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State in 1990. The product of the Ijebu-Ode Code was approved by the then National Council on Housing in 1991. Unfortunately, this document was not ratified by the then Federal Executive Council (FEC) for use in the country.
The 1991 – approved document was re-presented to the 2nd National Council on Housing and Urban Development held in Port-Harcourt, November, 2005 and the Council directed that the document be widely circulated to all stake holders for input to facilitate the production of an acceptable National Building Code.
The need to evolve a National Building Code arose from the following existing conditions of our cities and environment: (a) The absence of planning of our towns and cities; (b) Incessant collapse of buildings, fire infernos, built environment abuse and other disasters; (c) Dearth of referenced design standards for professionals; (d) Use of non-professionals and quacks; (e) Use of untested products and materials; (f) Lack of maintenance culture.
The National Building Code was therefore intended to open a new vista in the building industry and eliminate or reduce to the bare minimum the incidents of collapsed building syndrome in Nigeria; promoting safety and qualitative housing for every Nigerian.
To achieve these laudable objectives, every tier of government, (federal, state and local) were encouraged to imbibe the spirit and intent of the code. To this end, state governments were implored to integrate the provisions of the code into their local laws particularly those relating to design, construction and maintenance (post-construction) and efficiently monitor the implementation of the code.
Relevant professional bodies who had participated in producing the code were charged by the then minister of housing and urban development, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, not to rest on their oars. They were told to encourage their members to religiously observe the provisions of the code by organising various seminars to educate their members on the implications of the code.
However, the problem with Nigeria’s Building Code, is that it does not have the backing of any legal framework. It is only implemented by moral suasion or desire by some building professionals to adhere to ethics. That is why quacks have free reign in constructing death traps for unsuspecting Nigerians.
President of NIA, Enyi Ben-Eboh, has advised that government professionals responsible for approvals and supervision of construction sites should ensure that they sign off every stage of construction. He added that the National Building Code should be strictly enforced.
Former chairman of NIA Lagos chapter, Abimbola Ajayi, lamented that there is no political will or strength of character to stop the trend.
Tonye Oliver Braide, former president of NIA, canvassed corporate governance to curtail the incidence of building collapse in Nigerian cities. He explained that the government needed to put a mechanism in place to track the various stages of construction so that in the event of a collapse, it would be easy to find out who did what.
Gbenga Makinde, an architect, and member of the NIA, told NATIONAL ECONOMY that as long as there is no law compelling builders to adhere to laid down standards of building, Nigeria will continue to experience building collapses and the loss of lives and wealth that come with it.
