Poor regulation, sub-standard materials cause of building collapse in Nigeria – Expert
Prof. Yohanna Izam, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIB), has attributed the spate of building collapse in the country to poor regulations and infiltration of substandard building materials in the country.
Izam, who is also the Vice Chancellor, Plateau State University, Bokkos, said this on Sunday in Jos.
The president, also said that poor standardisation and quality assurance in both materials and manpower had over time contributed to the rise in building collapse.
Izam decried the high patronage of quacks by clients, adding that the building site had become one of the most unregulated factories in Nigeria.
”The number of building collapse has become quite alarming for a country like Nigeria, given the fact that it had become a phenomenon
”But there is the poor regulation of the construction industry in Nigeria to the extent that we think that the building site is the most unregulated factory in this country.
”The manifestation or display of quackery is huge and this is why in many sites of building collapse, you will see that quackery was on display and all these boil down to poor regulations.
”Another key challenge is the infiltration of substandard building materials in our markets; every single building material in Nigeria has two, three or even four different versions,”he said.
Izam maintained that the building engineers universities and polytechnics churned out have adequate knowledge to construct standard buildings, but decried the poor patronage of those professionals by clients.
”The content of our curriculum in universities and polytechnics of training builders is adequate, but the biggest problem in Nigeria is the lack of patronage by clients.
”Many clients engage quacks, people who are not trained and because our laws are so weak, everybody wakes up and believes he is a builder and clients engages them.
”Building has a technology, the chemistry of materials, the organisation of labour, deployment of appropriate technologies, among others are things that only a professional understands.
”So, this quackery that largely leads to building collapse in this nation will only stop if clients begin to engage professionals to ensure quality service delivery,” he said.
The president mainatined that building had a value chain beginning with planning, architectural design, construction, occupancy to post occupancy, adding that only professionals should be allowed to handle all the stages.
He called on goverment to strengthen existing laws regulating the construction industry in the country, to avert the consistent building collapse in the country.
He also advised the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to ensure quality building materials were found in the markets, adding that such would address incessant building collapse in the country.
