Abdullahi Alao Jimoh, a professor of civil engineering, University of Ilorin, has advocated for synergy among universities, construction industry, government agencies, and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to control fake building materials circulating in Nigeria.
The don made the advocacy while presenting University of Ilorin’s 220th inaugural lecture titled, “Exploring local materials for building development”. He disclosed that the use of local materials as against foreign ones could save up to 26 percent of project cost, stressing the need for Nigerians to embrace local materials in construction.
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The don further stated the use of local materials would make housing affordable, and capable of curbing dependency, slavery to foreign economy and reduction in devaluation of the local currency.
He said Africa generally and Nigeria in particular, were endowed with abundant natural resources but regrettably depend on imported materials for construction.
He described the topic of the lecture as apt, considering Nigeria’s current economic woes, adding that building materials constitute an integral component in building construction, which he said accounts for 70 percent of construction cost.
According to the professor, he has in his personal capacity, contributed to the development of society and students. He said he
