Lagos state and the issue of collapsed buildings

Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday February 3, 2015 at 14:31:0:

In our country Nigeria, Lagos state to be particular, the incessant incidence of collapsing buildings is becoming quite alarming and a cause for national concern. News of such issues have over the years been reported and are being so frequent this days. Almost every two months, there is always a report on one collapsed building or the other. This disastrous trend is becoming disturbing and it has Fri 30 Jan 2015 to so much lost of properties and as far as lives. The question one would want to ask is what causes of such happenings are. Who or what is responsible for these failures and collapse?

What kind of professionals are we having in our country? This is rather a challenge to the professionals and by extension a show of backwardness on our part as a nation. We hear every day of how places all the world are putting up sky scrapers without collapsing and for us it's just a few storey buildings and it can’t even stand the test of time. You and I know that these disasters are definitely due to negligence on the part of the developers or owner. They were not a result of any natural disaster - they just collapsed like that.

According to experts there are identifiable causes of buildings collapsing. It is said that the foundation is one of the determining factor of how long a building will last. Someone who wants to construct a high building must also consider a great deal the depth of foundation. Also to take into consideration is the type of soil the building is being built on. Different oil types require different kinds of foundation. The way you do a foundation for swampy oil is not the same with other types.

Sometime, the use of shoddy materials by developer just because they want maximize profit is the reason for these disasters. Instead of using quality building stuffs and employing competent hands, they want to make a lot of profit. An example is the use of low grade cement. According the Lagos state Urban and Region Planning and Development Law, when such happens, the buildings are supposed to be forfeited to the government of the state. This is why it is considered inappropriate and not acceptable to commence construction of any building without an approval from relevant authority.

A lot of lives have been lost and more lives will be if this situation is not treated as crucial. Most of the times with few exceptions, a team should be delegated to monitor construction work in the state. This team should on regular basis go on a check on the various ongoing construction as this will go a long way in curbing this mishap. This team should also be responsible for looking into the nature and quality of materials that are used in construction and also proffer measure and recommendations that will help prevent further occurrence.