To put an end to the incidence of building collapse, the Nigerian Institute of Building has called on the government to enforce relevant laws governing construction of buildings in the country.

The President, NIOB, Mr. Tijani Shuaib, said at the Building Construction and Machinery Exhibition that professionals in the built environment should share part of the blame for structural failures by allowing the use of substandard products in building construction.

He said, “One of the factors responsible for building collapse is the use of inferior and substandard products. If we allow substandard materials to be used, many buildings will not stand the test of time. Professionals in the sector have roles to play to stop the trend.

“We have our own shortcomings too in terms of design and construction, but as a body, we are working hard to ensure that standards are being followed. Government also needs to ensure they enforce laws that can give us the power to stop a building project that does not comply with standards.”

The Managing Director, Atlantic Exhibition, organisers of the event, Mr. Ayo Olugbade, said the fourth edition in its series was an opportunity for businessmen to develop the nation and bring investment opportunities to the country.

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Members of the Nigerian Institute of Building have stated that to address the country’s housing deficit, about five to 10 million artisans are needed in key areas in the next 20 years.

Those who spoke at the NIOB Lagos Chapter’s conference and Annual General Meeting noted that the importation of skilled labour should be checked if the nation must meet housing needs.

The Project Director, Construction Skills Training and Empowerment Project, Anthony Okwa, who spoke on the need for vocational training as the bedrock for housing and infrastructural development, said artisans should be considered as critical to any nation’s development.

“People must, therefore, be encouraged to developed interest in technical and vocational education,” he said.

According to him, the high rate of unemployment presents an opportunity for the youth to acquire the necessary skills in construction.

Okwa said there were positions in many organisations taken up by foreigners due to lack of necessary skills and qualifications by Nigerians to perform in those roles.

He said, “Many construction workers are retiring and the industry is also losing out to competing sectors where work is more stable and the pay more competitive. It is important that we invest in training people, particularly the youth, who will be dedicated to the development, design and implementation of engineering and technology projects for the built industry.

“In order to salvage Nigeria from its decaying infrastructure and huge housing deficit, all relevant stakeholders, including the federal and other arms of government, construction companies, real estate developers, professional bodies and trade associations must invest more resources in vocational training to boost the number, competence and quality of manpower for the construction industry.”

He said the National Vocational Qualification Framework approved by the government should be adopted for certification of skills, adding that professional builders had significant roles to play in the process.

The President, NIOB, Mr. Tijani Shuaib, said skills acquisition and vocational training in the built industry had become crucial.

Shuaib, who was represented by the 2nd Vice President of the institute, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, said the NIOB had been recognised as a certificate awarding body by the National Board for Technical Education for the certification of artisans.

“An assessment and certification board has also been inaugurated by the institute comprising its experienced and senior members,” he said.

The Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, NIOB, Mrs. Adenike Said, noted that members of the institute would continue to play their role as professionals at the centre of building construction in accordance with the body’s mission to enable members deliver sustainable shelter to address the housing needs of the country through research, development and global best practices.

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The Building Collapse Prevention Guild has called on stakeholders in the built environment as well as members of the public to build houses that can withstand earth tremors.

The BCPG said about a year ago, it drew the attention of the world to the possibility of Nigeria experiencing earthquakes and the need for the government to be proactive by reducing the spate of substandard building construction across the country.

The organisation said tremors, which recently occurred in parts of Oyo, Bayelsa, Rivers and Kaduna states resulted in the collapse of mud houses and inflicted visible cracks on modern buildings in the affected areas.

“This development has clearly shown the possibility of Nigeria having an earthquake induced disaster in the near future,” the BCPG said in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, and National Publicity Secretary, Mr. George Akinola.

“The perception that Nigeria is safe or far from the seismic active regions is no longer tenable. Shaki in Oyo State has been subjected to intermittent earth tremors this year and climaxed in the first week of June 2016. Communities in Bayelsa and Rivers states on July 10, 2016 had a similar experience, but in this case due to prolonged effect of oil exploration,” the guild said.

According to the body, earth tremors have occurred in the country in 1933,1939,1964,1984,1990,1994,1997, 2000, 2009 and 2016 but a series of earth tremors might not necessarily lead to high intensity earthquake.

It added that a study carried out by Dr. Adepelumi Abraham, of the Department of Geology, Obafemi  Awolowo University, Ile- Ife and his team of researchers stated that after the earth tremor of 2009 in the South-West, the probability of earthquake occurrence in the study area between the year 2009 and 2028 had increased from 2.8 per cent to 91.1 per cent.

The guild said, “Buildings are the bastion of physical development, which is used to adjudge a nation’s rung in the global socio-economic ladder. Investors in buildings should be concerned about the durability of what they are providing funds for. The longer a building exists, the more the revenue or value the owner derives from it. A solidly constructed building can stand the test of time.

“Nigeria must not continue to repeat the mistake of Haiti and Nepal where stringent building regulations are lacking, thereby aggravating the effects of earthquakes on buildings. In an earthquake disaster, substandard buildings have always been the major cause of high death tolls. And unfortunately in Nigeria, the National Building Code is legally and practically not in existence just as it was in Haiti.”

The BCPG said the call by the Director, Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, Toro, Bauchi State, Dr. Tahir Yakubu, that the Federal Government should establish additional seismological stations to monitor crustal movements in the identified earthquake prone areas should be taken seriously.

“A nation without an effective national building code will end up in ruin in the event of an earthquake. Enforcement of building regulations without compromise will prevent serious calamity in the future,” the guild said.

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