Following the collapse of a three-storey building that cut short 18 lives and left 41 others injured at Massey Street, Ita-Faaji area of Lagos Island, professionals in building and construction have warned that the state government’s lack of political will to demolish defective structures will only enroll more Lagosians for abrupt death.
Some of the experts who spoke to BusinessDay described the excuse of marking buildings identified to be structurally weak without proactive action of demolition as inadmissible, saying it signposts the government might only be paying lip service to its fight against building collapse.
At the scene of the gory incident, the Lagos State Government Building Control Agency (LABSCA) admitted knowing that the building was distressed since 2018 but hinged its failure to act on residents’ refusal to evacuate the building.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in his message against the practise of erecting poor structures also affirmed that the collapsed building had been marked, among several others structure on the Island that failed integrity test, noting that whoever was culpable would face the penalty.
That approach has not only been counted as medicine after death, it has also raised questions about LASBCA’s priorities in ensuring fundamental standards are maintained in construction and renovation.
That approach has not only been counted as medicine after death, it has also raised questions about LASBCA’s priorities in ensuring fundamental standards are maintained in construction and renovation.
The agency’s negligence so far is seen to have contrasted its objective of ensuring safe, healthy, accessible and habitable buildings that can stand the test of time.
According to the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), it is important to eliminate faulty buildings if the government must give way to urban renewal and protect lives while so doing.
Kunle Awobudu, president, BCPG, told BusinessDay after his visit to the site of the collapsed building that many of the buildings on Lagos Island, Isale Eko particularly, have deteriorated significantly that renovation should not be encouraged.
Kunle Awobudu, president, BCPG, told BusinessDay after his visit to the site of the collapsed building that many of the buildings on Lagos Island, Isale Eko particularly, have deteriorated significantly that renovation should not be encouraged.
“It is unacceptable for those houses to exist. This particular one was one out of many that were not properly constructed. The issue of marking is immaterial. There are over 1,000 that were not served on the Lagos Island and many of them are still standing,” said Awobudu.
“It is a political statement to say the buildings have been marked. Marking a building might barely mean to present documents of building plans or building approval. Once you present those, they can permit you to continue your work. It is only when they seal towards demolition and verify for integrity that we can say and action has been taken. The matter is beyond marking,” he said.
The Ita-Faaji building is the third to have caved in on the Lagos Island area in almost a year and the sixth collapse in Lagos State since February 2018. News of collapse has recently risen from Alagbado and Ikeja and appears to be imminent in other areas except preventive measures are adopted.
Offiong Ukpong, former chairman, Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Lagos chapter, said building collapse will stop when experts are involved in building construction.
“If our members who are experts were involved, I’m not sure this would have happened. Look at the sky-liners at Marina, people who are project managers and estate surveyors and valuers worked and most of the buildings are still standing,” he said.
“If our members who are experts were involved, I’m not sure this would have happened. Look at the sky-liners at Marina, people who are project managers and estate surveyors and valuers worked and most of the buildings are still standing,” he said.
Ukpong, however, linked the failure to consult expert service in construction to poor condition of the economy and the profit-oriented nature of deals offered to indigent land owners by developers.
He believes the monitoring of construction activities should be a joint effort between the government and independent professionals to ensure effective checks.
“Developers look at the turnaround time of their investment and might do a shoddy job because the interest is not human beings but how much they can make in a particular location. As a member of the BSPG, we have been asking government to partner with us but all our efforts were not honoured,” Ukpong told BusinessDay. Related News
Temitayo Ayetoto
