Despite
its huge housing deficits, Nigeria is also battling with the menace of building
collapse. However, the federal government has shown its commitment to address
the tide. TOPE SUNDAY reports.
Barely
will any week pass in Nigeria that the case of building collapse will not
dominate the media. The development is taking a new dimension as souls are
being lost whenever the incident occurs. To this end, the federal government in
2018 set up the National Building Code Advisory Committee to work out
modalities against building collapse and other infractions in the built
environment.
A peep into the committee’s work
Last
week, the committee, which is headed by Architect Mohammed Jimoh Faworaja, paid
a courtesy call on the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola
in Abuja.
During
the visit, which lasted for almost one hour, Faworaja informed the minster of
the activities of the committee since inauguration on July 26, 2018 to include
conclusion of work on the guidelines for gas piping to buildings in the form of
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
He
added that a draft code has been prepared to be procedurally presented to a
Stakeholders’ Workshop between now and November before incorporating it in the
National Building Code.
Faworaja,
a veteran in the building construction with an experience spanning decades,
said the
committee had also set up some needed technical committees which include the
Design, the Construction and Post–construction sections adding that the
sub-committees have already commenced work monitoring the day-to-day activities
of the Committee.
Other
activities, he said, include monitoring building related activities nationwide,
adding that one of the most worrisome outcomes of the monitoring was the
incidences of building collapse across the country particularly in the Federal
Capital Territory, Lagos and other cities in the country.
How to address the menace
For the
Fashola, the best way to tackle the menace of the building collapse is
through the prosecution of builders found culpable in the building collapse
incidents in any part of the country.
Fashola,
who responded to the presentation made by the leader of the committee, said
where an investigation has been concluded in any event of building collapse and
someone was found not to have complied to any of the building standards, such a
person should be prosecuted as an example to others.
“Somebody
must have acted wrongly, either in the design stage, whether it is in the
material supply, whether it is in the compliance stage, somebody did something
that he or she should not have done.
“I
think that we have come to a point where after each unfortunate collapse we go
back to the investigations, let us find one person who has acted wrongly.
“Somebody
must have acted wrongly, either in the design stage, whether it is in the
material stage, whether it is in the compliance stage, somebody did something
that he or she should not have done. Find that person and let us take him up
for prosecution”, the Minister said.
The
Minister said people needed to know that there would be consequences for
non-compliance to the law, adding that because people have died in any event of
building collapse, the culprit could become answerable for manslaughter or for
criminal negligence or answerable for so many other things.
“It
is important for people to know that those laws are there to affect how people
behave and that when people don’t comply with those laws there would be
consequences”, he said.
Culpable professionals shouldn’t be protected
Fashola,
who recalled an incident in Lagos when he was governor, pointed out that while
investigation was getting close to the culprit of a building collapse, there
was “conspiratorial silence” in the industry which enabled the culprit to
escape prosecution.
“In
places where investigations have been concluded, there will be findings; that
there were substandard materials used, who supplied; or wrong design , who
designed it? That is the person to hold. Or that designs were okay and
materials were appropriate but they removed some, so who removed, who supplied?
We can track all these things down. We have that ability”, he said.
Students’ involvement very key
The
minister, who commended the advocacy plan of the committee aimed at sensitizing
members of the public on the basic building standards, advised that such
sensitization should start from primary up to tertiary levels.
Describing
students as the “more critical stakeholders” in the built industry, Fashola
said they were going to be more involved in the industry from now, adding that
unless they were exposed early in life to the global best practices in the
industry, they would learn it very late.
“Every
level of education is important; the undergraduate level, the secondary school
and even the primary school level. You can breakdown what they need to learn in
easy modules and easy bites.
Just
like you learn something at the primary school level and it gets tougher as you
progress to the secondary and university levels”.
The
minister promised that government would get involved at this point with school
teachers and principals as well as state ministries of education.
He
said: “With this, some basic essentials of the building are to
be inculcated to the people in childhood”, adding that there was the need
“to be sufficiently connected with our habitats like in other communities”.
Fashola
also advised the committee to use street level conversation strategy in their
interaction with the public during their sensitization programme for a better
and effective sensitization, adding that such programmes had failed in
situations where professionals used technical languages and codes while
explaining matters of public importance to them.
“All
too often, professionals cannot breakdown the essential elements of their
profession to street level conversation. We speak in such technical terms that
make no connection with the ordinary people”, the Minister said.