The rampant cases of buildings collapsing in various locations across the country have posed a great challenge to government and professionals in the built environment in view of the enormous loss of huge investments in housing and attendant loss of lives. ORJIME MOSES writes on the increasing spate of the menace, as professionals have continued to attribute the ordeal on to sharp practices and the use of substandard materials.
As we are already aware, the frequency of building collapse in Nigeria has become a source of worry to stakeholders. The non-destructive tests (popularly called integrity tests) are diagnostic in nature and would show structural defects.
For any building that passes the non-destructive tests, they are certified and declared structurally fit.
The goal of non-destructive tests is to ensure that critical infrastructure are properly maintained in order to avoid catastrophic accidents.
Professionals have attributed building collapse to non engagement of professionals and sharp practices such as use of substandard materials.
Although some professional bodies are charged with the accreditation of building professionals as well as regulating their practice, little has been achieved to avert the regular cases of building collapse.
Regulatory bodies like the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and also the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), are some of the professional regulatory bodies saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring professionalism and ethical standard in the construction industry.
Given that building collapse has become alarming in Nigeria, experts noted the need to involve professionals to periodically carry out integrity tests on critical infrastructure, bridges and residential buildings.
Experts said that such tests are non-destructive tests for reinforced concrete structures using ultrasonic pulse velocity test or Schmidt hammer test to achieve structural integrity of a structure.
Some of the tests that are carried out during such quality assurance tests include soil, water, concrete and non-destructive geoscience, among others.
They also highlighted the need to reach out to qualified professionals in the industry such as COREN and others who can identify competent people for the job.
Sadly, building collapse is creating a negative impact on the country which include loss of human lives, economic wastage in terms of loss of property, jobs and incomes, loss of trust, dignity, exasperation of crises among the stakeholders as well as environmental disasters.
Available records showed that over 200 people have died from building collapses in Nigeria since 2017.
Reports also indicated that there were 25 building collapses in 2021, 27 in 2020, 12 in 2019, two in 2018 and eight in 2017. There were cases in Lagos, Kano, FCT, and others.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that between 2017 and 2022, there were a wide range of causes of the building collapse including gas explosions, heavy downpours and even old and dilapidated buildings.
Speaking in an interview with LEADERSHIP Sunday on why the country should adopt non-destructive integrity tests as other advanced countries, a member of the Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Humphrey Anyawata, lamented the dearth of such tests in the country.
Anyawata said that the tests are rarely done on buildings or bridges to avoid unfortunate and unforeseen occurrences.
He said the cause of building collapse is still based on the acts of omission or commission by contractors or the consultants because they need to know the specifics of what they are doing and also know whether the building can stand the test of time or not.
“In every construction, we have a way of trying to test the building or bridges which is to test the integrity of that particular construction.
“You know, to avert building collapse, there are so many implementations. First, professionals confirm the quality of the materials. Secondly, the quality of reinforcement. Was the construction done by certified professionals?
“Thirdly, does the cement used pass the standard test? So, we should not just be looking at the building collapse. We should be looking at the construction methodology, the re-enforcement pass and the workers whether they are competent. When a building collapses, when you put all these indices together, you will be able to know why the building collapsed.
“The integrity test is supposed to be carried out throughout the lifespan of the building. If you complete the projects, you will still carry out an integrity test on the building. You do the integrity test from foundation to the finishing,” he said.
However, the most popular cause of building collapse is poor construction, accounting for 36 per cent of the collapse. Old buildings accounted for the second-highest reason for collapse accounting for 20 per cent.
But the fact that Nigeria is undergoing a tremendous transformation in the built-environment cannot be overemphasised.
This is in line with the growth that is being experienced in the infrastructure and building industries all over the world on the effects of technological breakthroughs and consequently, the ICT flattened world.
Nonetheless, experiencing negative trends in the Nigerian building industries while other parts of the world have total improvements is worrisome.
In advanced nations, integrity tests are conducted quarterly on buildings, bridges, and roads in order to avoid the damages that may occur in the near future but here the reverse is the case.
However, in all these instances, the overarching trend is the lag on the part of the responsible agencies, which ought to uphold construction standards. Similarly, the inability to enforce the regulations has been one of the major issues.
A quantity surveyor, Dr Ifeanyi Obieje, of Ahmadu and Partners said building collapse is an emerging issue in the country at the moment.
“However, as part of our role as cost managers, we try our best to optimise the expenditures and we are also trained to know the limit to which we can go so that we cannot be found wanting.
“Here in Nigeria, yes, we did integrity tests but the problem we have here is that we do not use the right people at the right time. Competent people are not being used at all times and that is the problem we have.
“Also, it is sad that some people don’t engage competent engineers. But the problem again is the economy. When the economy is bad, people try to cheat the system and that brings problems at the end of the day.
“So, there is a need to reach out to qualified professionals in the industry. We have various organisations such as COREN, and others in the building sector. So, these are the organisations that can identify who is competent and who is not competent,” he stated.
He further noted that in order to cut costs, it was learnt that many of the property developers recruit quack engineers and procure substandard building materials.
Recently, the presidents of some of the regulatory and professional bodies in the built environment have said development control officers should be held responsible for most building collapses in Nigeria.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, the president of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Mr Ali Rabiu, said development control officers largely contributed to the collapse of buildings in Nigeria.
“Non-verification of building design, construction done without following strict procedures, availability of sub-standard materials, non-legislation and enforcement of the National Building Code (NBC) by the National Assembly all contribute to building collapse in the country,” he said.
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