Guild Laments Frequent Building Collapse In Nigeria

The Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) has lamented frequent cases of building collapse in different parts of the country, saying urgent steps must be taken to nip the problem in the bud.

BCPG in a statement by its national president,  Sulaimon Yusuf and  eneral secretary, Adenike Ayanda remarked that when the seven-storey building collapsed at Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos on April 12, 2023, the holy month of Lent/Easter and Ramadan/Eid-El-Fitri seemed desecrated.

According to them, incidence of building collapse became a recurrent issue because real estate and housing development have become an alternative booming business for investors following the collapse of the stock exchange and manufacturing in Nigeria.

‘’So many business oriented people, who possess nil training in building construction have flooded the nation’s construction sphere with little respect for professionalism and due process.

 ‘’When there are no eligibility criteria, requirements or qualifications that restrict admission into a sensitive and critical sector, the consequence will endanger the much cherished life and property. And in ‘all comers affair’, where professional advice is hardly adhered to as profiteering is elevated above safety, compromise becomes the order of the day.

 ‘’This abnormal and unacceptable situation became a concern to those of us in the built environment professional services. Town Planners, (Land) Surveyors, Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Builders, and Estate Surveyors & Valuers came together to form a coalition named Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) in 2011. Of course, the membership was huge and well spread across different localities and reticulated into various cell formations.’’

The professionals said the price being paid by the Nigerian construction professionals is high in image damage due to the activities of quacks, saying the earlier the menace of building collapse is put to rest, the better for the practitioners in the Nigerian building industry.

They appealed to developers to abide by the building regulations and engage the appropriate professionals in the pre-construction, construction and post- construction stages of building, saying they should consider the risk involved in building construction more than the gains.