The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Role of computerised vehicle inspection in road safety

    Role of computerised vehicle inspection in road safety

    Sir: Ten years ago, the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service made its debut on the national scene with a simple mandate- to ensure vehicles plying the roads have met the minimum standards of safety. From its humble beginnings in Abuja, the service has now expanded to over 28 states across the country, each at different stages of operation. Over this period, it’s safe to say that a new vehicle maintenance culture has begun to take root in Nigeria’s automobile sector.

    Two years ago, I lost my father due to complications from an accident he had ten years earlier. Like many accidents, it was entirely avoidable. A faulty brake system on a bike sent him crashing into the sidewalk while he was taking a leisurely stroll around his home. Four days later, he woke up from a coma, and six weeks after that, he had to undergo brain surgery. The accident left him incapacitated for years, robbing him of the vitality that once defined him.

    Many would say he was lucky—some never get a second chance. According to a report by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), statistics from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for Q1 2023 show that 1,349 people were killed in road accidents, with 7,744 others injured in crashes involving 3,965 vehicles. Many of these people suffered life-altering injuries or were completely immobilized.

    When the opportunity to be part of the Lagos Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service (LACVIS) came to me, I knew I wanted to contribute to the advocacy for safer roads through roadworthy vehicles that meet the state’s safety certification standards.

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    Most accidents are caused by vehicle owners neglecting defects that compromise the safety of their vehicles on the roads. In pursuance of its road worthiness certificate issuance mandate, the Vehicle Inspection Service, VIS, as part of document renewal, issues corresponding referral notes to vehicles owners to present their vehicles for comprehensive inspection at any of the 35 LACVIS centres across Lagos.

    LACVIS was set up by the Lagos State Government to assess the roadworthiness status of vehicles. Inspections at LACVIS include, but are not limited to, brake efficiency tests, emission tests, checks of lighting systems, suspension and alignment, as well as thorough visual and underneath inspections. These protocols are designed to detect over 200 potential defects. In one instance, a “danfo” commuter bus was found to have over 60 defects, each capable of causing an accident.

    Since its inception, LACVIS has tested all categories of vehicles—from salons and SUVs to trucks, tankers, and trailers—following its mandate to ensure our roads are safe, and both drivers and other road users can trust that the state government is working to improve their lives.

    However, there’s still much more to be done. All stakeholders must work together with a renewed sense of urgency to create safer roads for everyone. LACVIS does not work in isolation; it has become a trusted partner for numerous road safety advocacy groups, organisations, and institutions. It has contributed to various initiatives, from exhibitions and symposiums to media campaigns, strengthening industry regulations, and playing a key role in educating the public on vehicle safety.

    As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is the beginning. Staying together is progress. Working together is success.” It has been a humbling journey, pioneering the use of technology in vehicle inspection—moving from subjective assessments to objective testing. The ripple effects are evident: an improved vehicle maintenance culture, strengthened resale values for Nigerian used cars, data-driven conversations on emissions, and strategic partnerships with industry experts to shape the future. And this is just the beginning of what’s to come.

    •Abike Akintuyi Awojobi,LACVIS, Lagos.

  • On recent onslaught against terrorists

    On recent onslaught against terrorists

     Sir: Thursday, last week troops of Operation Hadarin Daji dispatched terrorist leader, Halilu Sububu, and his gang of death-dealers in a five-star caravan of wry irony to the netherworld. Sububu had risen in notoriety with the savagery he dealt on citizens in Zamfara, Sokoto, and other parts of north-western Nigeria. He was loud, imperious, and brutal, issuing threats and making crowing pronouncements on videos. Lives have been lost, communities displaced, property destroyed, and citizens maimed by the sheer industry of Sububu and his gang.

    The troops also scored another victory, neutralising Sani Wala Burki, kin of Sububu in the terror business, and his gang, as well as extirpated a terrorist hideaway in Kaduna, freeing 13 kidnapped students. The troops also eliminated four terrorists in Zamfara State – Ibrahim Nagure, Lawali Dodo, Kadiri, and Jambaleri.

    In another valiant endeavour, the security forces apprehended terrorist leader, Hosseini Osman, in Plateau State. The news agency says Osman was netted at Ganawuri village, in the Riyom local government area, where he confessed to masterminding numerous attacks across the state.

    The troops further launched offensives against fleeing terrorists in Sambisa Forest, neutralising many of them.

    This string of propitious outcomes in the northwest and the northeast follow President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the service chiefs to relocate to the zone and his consistent support to the security agencies.

    On September 3, the President in a decisive response to the killings in Yobe State, had said: ‘The perpetrators of this sinister act will have an inevitable encounter with justice.’’ And true to his promise, the troublers of the nation are having fated encounters with justice, and so will all those visiting terror on Nigerians.

    Fundamentally, successive actions against terrorism will not be effective or be permanent solutions without a conscientious plan to address the underlying cause. A prominent contributor to the challenge is youth illiteracy and socio-economic dislocation. Economic and social security is essential for corporeal security.

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    This is the reason the President Tinubu-led administration is making critical investments in education. The federal government through its out-of-school initiative recently reintegrated four million children into the educational system. Also, the Out-of-School Children Commission, set to commence this month, will provide training to approximately 10,000 young Nigerians. The Tinubu administration is addressing the bottom-line precipitates of social-economic insecurity through seminal policies and programmes while redistributing wealth to the vulnerable and the most vulnerable through revamped social welfare schemes.

    As the President re-affirmed, immediate and latent security threats will be decisively dealt with.

    •Fredrick Nwabufo,Snr Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, Abuja.

  • Open letter to content creators

    Open letter to content creators

    Sir: The population of Nigerians creating and earning from contents has certainly reduced the number of job seekers and dependants in the country. This is also healthy for the economy, safety and sanity of the country. However, as content creators in the country, we have a role that is more sensitive than we seem to be mindful of. The mobile phone has become the new television and those of us who are constantly seen on social media today will determine what the country will see in the future. We, as content creators, are the joy givers but we must understand that beneath the joy we give is a subtle direction for the future of the country. A lot of learning, comprehension and mind-modelling go on under the guise of humour. This is because humour is a universal language that is understood and appreciated in all human cultures.

    The advent of content creation on social media in Nigeria today can be likened to the oil boom of the 1970s. Just like many Nigerians now consider the discovery of crude oil to be more of a problem to the country than a blessing, and would say that the country probably would have got it right if we had had to live with our agro-based economy, the boom of content creation may equally become some good or doom to our tomorrow even if it fills today with laughter. The contents we create today may help us smile to the bank but are we sure they will not stab us in the back?

    We have to recognise ourselves as major change makers whose impact transcends factors such as age, class and gender. We have the gifts of penetrating people’s hearts without seeking their consent. Since the heart is like a slate, what are we inscribing on these vulnerable minds who like us helplessly because of our gifts?

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    We must remind ourselves that just like films, music, novels, plays and poems, our contents must carry messages. Second, beyond the general messages of our contents, we also have to help our society return to the values and virtues which used to be embodied in our folklores, tales and songs. Values such as honesty, perseverance, hard work, diligence, transparency, responsibility, accountability, dignity of labour, moderacy and moderation are social currencies which bring stability to any country and we can, as content creators, establish the importance of upholding them firmly through our skits and other contents.

    Third, it is no news that the venture of content creation has become a very lucrative one with many prosperous content creators. Rather than engaging in show-offs, we should start thinking of how to give back to society from God’s kindness to us. This awareness is important because most content creators are relatively young and may think more in terms of “rocking life”. We must know that we are never too young to start contributing our bits to the development of the country.

    Fourth, content creators should embrace collaboration and help the budding ones grow. We do not go down by raising others. Instead, we go higher.

    I end this piece by letting us know that beyond the quest for gain, we have the task of making our country great as content creators. By so doing, we will be writing our name in gold for posterity.

    •Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD, Lagos State University, Ojo.

  • Ajaero: What manner of labour leader?

    Ajaero: What manner of labour leader?

    By Kola Amzat

    Sir: Since the incumbent president of the Nigeria Labour Congress assumed office barely 15 months ago, he’s been involved in brawl with security agencies on more than five occasions.

    Ajaero is certainly not the only leader who has been in the forefront of struggles for the right of workers across the country.

    There is also the president of Trade Union Congress (TUC). Why has the security agencies not been having any axe whatsoever to grind with him? Not even once has the police authority or DSS or any other agencies have issues with him?

    The fact remains that Ajaero continually deploys the office of NLC presidency to commit illegality.  

    He erroneously believes that the office he occupies gives him liberty and freedom to involve himself in treasonable and other unwholesome activities against the country, and expects the security agencies to look the other way.

     It is only the president and governors of 36 states who enjoy immunity from arrests and prosecution; not even, Senate President, Speaker of House of Representatives and National Assembly members.

    It’s apparent that Joe Ajaero has resolved to be deploying the NLC presidency to be causing unrest, pandemonium and uncertainty in the country, as well as attracting undue attention to himself.

    He’s also deploying the instrumentality of the office to be settling personal scores with the government, as well as security forces.       

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    But, why is it that Ajaero tenure as labour leader has been so much controversial?

    If the Imo State born NLC president has a political ambition, he should drop the garb of labour presidency and join a political party with a view to slugging out with other contestants. He must come down from his high horse, embrace and hug humility, and stop deploying the office of NLC presidency to perpetrate wrongful acts.

    Is it not the same NLC platform Comrade Adams Oshiomole admirably deployed as launch pad for the office of governor in Edo State, APC chairman and now senator?

    Is it not the same NLC office late Comrade Paschal Bafyau deployed to nearly ascend to the office of vice president of the country?

    Of course, the immediate past NLC president, Ayuba Wabba was a consummate labour leader, an embodiment of maturity, decorum, knowledge and decency in office!

    The fact remains that Ajaero’s short tenure as NLC president has been uneventful, riotous, disruptive and destructive. He stands as a big minus to dutiful and resourceful Nigerian workers, as well as all the labour blocs across the country that collaborated to install him as NLC president.         

    Nigeria Labour Congress is created to advance the cause of workers across the federation, as well as intelligently, tactfully, constructively, and strategically defend the workers interests with a view to making them stakeholders in the Nigerian project, and, more importantly, collaborate with the government to build a prosperous nation.

    For sure, NLC leadership is not created to continually pitch the workers across the country against the government, through incitement and casting aspersions on the country’s leadership.

    This is not how to lead labour movement of a country with vibrant and vast population of about 230-240 million people and the largest black nation in the world.

    The labour movement deserve a charismatic, matured, respected, educated and well-informed, as well as labour leader with exemplary character.

    The time is ripe for labour leaders to show Ajaero the way out of the labour presidency office, otherwise, he will continue to attract opprobrium, ridicule, scorn and embarrassment to the movement.   

    • Kola Amzat (FCA, FCIB) Lagos.

  • Age limit for WAEC/NECO: Memo to education minister

    Age limit for WAEC/NECO: Memo to education minister

    Sir: I was 16 when I gained admission into university, and by the age of 18, I had my first internship—a memorable experience that shaped my perspective on work and life. Yet, I vividly recall being told I would not be hired full-time because I was considered too young.

    Looking back, I am relieved I was not nearing graduation then, as I would have faced the daunting prospect of entering the job market as a 20-year-old with little real-world experience. At the time, I was told that maybe by the age of 22 or 23, I would finally be deemed mature enough to be seriously considered for a job.

    Through further research, I discovered that in many developed countries, there is a structured approach to nurturing a child’s intellectual and personal development. Take the United Kingdom where students typically spend two years in college after high school. During this period, they continue their education, while also acquiring critical life skills and exploring career interests.

    This system provides a balance between academic growth and personal development, ensuring that students are better prepared for both higher education and the workforce. Similarly, in Taiwan, vocational schools cater to students aged 16 to 18, offering them practical skills training that equip them for various career paths.

    Prof. Tahir Mamman, our dear Minister of Education, your efforts to address long-standing issues that have been overlooked are commendable. However, your recent decision to bar candidates under 18 from writing JAMB has drawn significant criticism.

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    While the rationale behind the policy may be well-intentioned—perhaps to promote greater maturity and readiness for tertiary education—the rollout has been met with resistance from key stakeholders in the education sector.

    Prof. Mamman, the success of this policy hinges on whether there are alternative pathways for the development of young Nigerians during the gap years created by the new JAMB age requirement. While it is true that some younger students may lack the emotional and mental maturity needed to thrive in university settings, the solution cannot simply be to prevent them from progressing.

    We must provide these students with structured programmes that allow them to explore their interests, gain valuable experiences, and develop the skills necessary to succeed later in life.

    Without such initiatives in place, this policy may inadvertently create more problems than it solves. Many young Nigerians will be left in a state of limbo, unsure of what to do with the extra time before they can continue their education.

    The government must prioritize creating opportunities for career exploration, vocational training, and personal development if it hopes to make this new age restriction truly beneficial for the country’s youths.

    •Aremu Ebunoluwa Toluwani Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State.

  • Sokoto’s bogus boreholes

    Sokoto’s bogus boreholes

    Sir: The Sokoto State governor, Ahmad Aliyu, recently announced that the sum of N1.2 billion had been earmarked for the repair of the 25 boreholes in the state.

    Now, to those unfamiliar with the intricate workings of government, the figure may seem outrageous and for good reasons. But by any measure, the sum of N1.2 billion for the repair of 25 boreholes is outlandish. The figure would be outrageous even if it was for the dredging of new boreholes, as the Chief Press Secretary to the governor explained in an apparent somersault forced by the flagellating backlash the government has received from Nigerians.

    If the explanations were meant to clarify issues, he only succeeded in painting the government he serves as careless at best and incompetent at worst.  Didn’t the governor know what such a humongous amount of money was allocated for before announcing it to the public? Didn’t the governor query the appropriation to ensure its propriety before deploying it to score political points?

    It is terrible how public funds are treated in a country where poverty is a national insignia.

    In a country where budgets have become bludgeons with which thieving public officers batter their way into the public till, Nigerians are right to raise eyebrows at every government expenditure.

    Unfortunately, public officials have over the years refined the art of stealing public funds. So daring and sophisticated have their ways become that it has become almost impossible to detect and deter them.

    What will be gushing out of the boreholes in Sokoto State when the government is done with its outrageous expenditure? Milk? Petrol?

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    Water is life. Clean and safe water for drinking and other use is indispensable to the health and well-being of people anywhere. That Nigeria continues to struggle to provide safe water for use for its teeming population despite enormous water resources is a national tragedy. That many Nigerians especially those who live in the rural areas remain without clean and safe water indicts Nigeria’s development efforts since independence and a much celebrated return to democracy in 1999.

    The lack of safe drinking water has seen Nigeria continue to fail to meet its Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) objectives to its citizens. This failure in turn continues to turn in a slew of devastating consequences for Nigerians, especially children who are the most vulnerable demographic.  Diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio which are directly linked to unsafe water, break out now and then, causing death and misery to families.

    The waterless situation is especially dire in IDP camps where survivors of terrorism and pastoral conflicts soon find themselves at the mercy of killer diseases.

    What is a country that cannot provide enough safe water for its people? How low should be the stock of a government that cleverly hides its misappropriation of public funds in the folds of long-overdue provision of the water to its people?

    Water is life and clean and safe water for use is the least every child in Sokoto State should enjoy especially in the rural areas where insecurity continues to collide with poor healthcare, egregious unemployment, poor education and a gruelling lack of opportunities to make life unliveable and unbearable.

    In Nigeria, suspicion rather than cooperation is what citizens offer their leaders and for good reason. Colossal corruption which has continued for many years in all levels of government has eroded public trust and inhibited development. The onus is on those who occupy public office to show that they can be trusted with public resources. This they are yet to show.

    As long as they prefer darkness to light and opacity to transparency in public affairs, they will remain targets of the suspicion of Nigerians, which sharpened over many years of bad governance.

    •Ike Willie-Nwobu,Ikewilly9@gmail.com

  • Let’s have more CNG stations

    Let’s have more CNG stations

    • By Nelson Ekujumi

    Sir: For decades, Nigeria and Nigerians have grappled with the crisis in our oil sector, ranging from dysfunctional refineries, importation, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, fluctuating and recurring hike in price as a result of global price of crude oil which keeps fluctuating due to international market dynamics.

    This crisis has impacted negatively on our lives as the prices of goods and services which keeps rising are fundamentally determined by logistics cost and it has also engendered acrimony between successive governments and the citizenry for decades.

    Therefore, it is imperative for a government and people who want to permanently resolve this perennial crisis, to seek an alternative means which is cleaner, safer, cheaper and affordable to not only bring down the prices of goods and services, but have zero effect in depleting the ozone layer and destroying our environment.

    Enter Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), a natural and environmentally friendly source of energy to fuel our cars, buses, and other automobiles at a cheaper, safer, affordable and pocket friendly price for consumers.

    On a recent visit to a CNG dispensing station located in Agidingbi, Alausa area of Lagos State, one saw first-hand vehicles that have been converted to CNG drive into the station for fuelling with ease, while vehicles using fossil fuel were subjected to the inconveniences that come with it.

    The CNG attendant informed that the station has been servicing vehicles for over two months now.

    The price of the CNG per litre is N230, so if we compare the price of fossil fuel today at the rate of between N868 – N1100 per litre, we can see that the savings that will accrue to a vehicle owner and the impact on the prices of goods and services will be in the positive.

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    One is aware of the commitment and relentless efforts of the Presidential Committee on Compressed Natural Gas PiCNG to create awareness around the transition to this cleaner source of energy and also its tour and public engagements with states governments as well as the Nigerian public across the federation. One is also aware that PiCNG) has also been meeting with stakeholders in the automobile, transportation, and petroleum business on the feasibility of establishing CNG pump stations across the country and that project, from all available evidence, is going on steadily.

    The priority being given to public transportation stakeholders by the Bola Tinubu administration to convert to CNG at a zero cost gladdens the heart as it will contribute substantially to bringing down the prices of goods and services that have been impacted negatively by high transportation costs.

    One calls for more CNG stations to be set up even in the remotest parts of our country so that we all can be beneficiaries of it.

    •Nelson Ekujumi,

    nelekujumi@gmail.com

  • Communalism to the rescue

    Communalism to the rescue

    • By Ganiu Bamgbose

    Sir: It is not news that every segment of the Nigerian state is in a shambles– from politics, to economy, to education, and even morality. Even religion is not a rescue. The axiomatic definition of politics in Nigeria is that which considers it a dirty game. Economy has become the survival of the fittest. What shall we say about education in Nigeria? We have moved from the era of unemployment to the era of churning out unemployable graduates.

    The get-rich-quick syndrome and other manifestations of moral decadence have even popularised the notion that school amounts to a waste of time – school na scam. In the face of these numerous challenges facing the country, it is sadly not in the habit of Nigeria and Nigerians to look inward for solution.

    “If it will work, it has to be foreign or external”. That is unfortunately the belief. I pondered recently on the knowledge, mystery and efficacy of how the Ilaje and some other parts of Nigeria get to throw babies in rivers to test paternity. This had been with us in Nigeria but we would talk about DNA like we never had or have anything like it. One of such values we possess in Nigeria which is long neglected but capable of causing the desired change is the communal existence.

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    As a form of government or political movement, communalism means, among other things, a system or theory of government in which the state is seen as a loose federation of self-governing communities; an electoral system in which ethnic groups vote separately for their own representatives, or loyalty to the interests of one’s own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole. All of these perspectives to communalism are, however, not the form of communalism practised in Nigeria. The communalism practised in Nigeria was the advocacy of communal/collective/joint living or ownership. The type where one adult’s child was every adult’s child; where a person’s fortune was the community fortune and someone’s business was everyone else’s business.

     The Nigerian communalism was the one which enabled retailers to leave their goods with price tags and returned to either money or their goods intact. It was the lifestyle that made families share food among themselves during celebrations despite that all families had something to eat. It was the collectiveness that would make your neighbour spank you as a child and you would not dare to mention it at home because you would be beaten more. It was the time children in the neighbourhood knew themselves and played together. It was the time houses had no tall fences and neighbours could wave at one another. It was the era we were bound by love, empathy, compassion and support for one another.

    The dynamics of times will not make it possible to return to life as it was but these good features of communal existence can still be upheld. Today, we now raise children who do not know members of their extended families, not to speak of other children in the neighbourhood. With more houses on the island, people now live like an island. We are detached from others and this has caused us peace and security.

    Together, we can foster togetherness and build a happy and safe country to live in. The Ubuntu spirit described as reminding us that ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’ is what the Nigerian communal lifestyle preaches and it is only in the spirit of such humanity to others that a country can have true peace.

    •Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD,

    Lagos State University, Ojo.

  • Garbage in, garbage out educational system

    Garbage in, garbage out educational system

    • By Prince Charles Dickson

    Sir: For several weeks now, it has been a back and forth between the Federal Ministry of Education and parents, on exactly the right age for a child to write the regulatory transitional exams. Let me say whether it is 18 years, or five years, a dullard or an intelligent kid, it is garbage in, garbage out.

    Have you noticed the ever increasing cases of graduates and interview candidates having shallow knowledge of the subject matter, poor command of the use of English language, poor knowledge of the examination techniques, as well disregard for correct interpretation of questions before attempting them?

    Or that many candidates lack requisite mathematical and manipulative skills for subjects involving calculations, while handwriting of some are illegible and their answers scripts are full of spelling errors?

    Many candidates try to cut corners by engaging in various forms of examination malpractice in order to obtain marks.

    A good many of us spat on the education we had yesterday, and of course what passes for education today. And there is, certainly, a stratum of our society that looks back, nostalgically, at the quality of yesterday’s education. How many of us today can argue that this is not the truth, even the generation that had its education in 2000 now looks back with nostalgia?

    By and large, however, most of us believed that there was very much missing in the content of our yesterday’s education. What we have today, in spite of innovations and the bold attempts to re-orientate it, remains, as it was yesterday, orthodox, slow foot, myopic.

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    Our educational system today only sharpens the head to near pin end quality and this is even rare but it also makes the possessors limb atrophied by long disuse. Our education is money centred. It is an education which goads the possessor asking “what can my country do for me?” 

    In 2024, we are left to define the quality of education we want for tomorrow when our peers have gone far in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore; neighbouring Ghana has even refused to wait for us. To chart out how to tread to win through, we now send our kids anywhere so far it is outside the country the education is better, be it Iraq or Zimbabwe.

    Do we have an education in which a possessor wants to elevate the less privileged that surge him round? The answer is no. Today what is the value of the education given to a young man who lives or is doing his mandatory service year in a guinea worm infested area and yet is incapable of causing a revolution in the lives of the villagers by transforming their drinking water into healthy supply?

    While we battle the scourge of local terrorism, bad leadership, kidnap, health, and countless issues, there is need to come up with some measures that could help both the students and schools to improve on their output, by extension resuscitate a nation’s dying if not dead educational sector.

    Our students need to develop a good understanding of questions and also learn the basic rudiments of the English language for better and clearer presentation of their answers. The sex for grade, bribe for certificate syndrome needs to be checked.

    There is a need to ensure the appropriate textbooks in all subjects are procured and studied side by side with the examination syllabus, and should be completed before the commencement of examination. Libraries need to go info-tech, not littered with books of 1914. While practical on-hands learning away from just examination should be incorporated.

    There is a need to provide basic infrastructure, and conducive atmosphere in schools, only qualified and committed teachers who will teach their subjects effectively and guide students to become exemplary in their studies should be employed.

    The question of whatever happened to the old school inspectorate system should be addressed.

    We must move away from the exam-centric, conversation curriculum that takes away critical thinking and qualitative reasoning and educate with intention for a future world. If these and even more rigorous steps are taken, we may be saved the irony of the clowns we are churning out these days!

    •Prince Charles Dickson, PhD,

    <pcdbooks@gmail.com

  • On incessant building collapse

    On incessant building collapse

    Sir: Incessant building collapse, to say the least has become a source of concern and embarrassment to Nigerians. More embarrassing is that buildings are collapsing across the country in quick succession, giving the impression that there are no professionals and that there is no regulatory body in place.

    Causes of building collapse include, but not limited to influx of substandard building materials into the market-leading to incessant complaints and defects in buildings, non-implementation of the National Building Code, soil investigation not carried out, and use of wrong foundation type on varying soils. 

    Other causes include failure of regulatory authorities to ensure compliance to permits and approvals, negligence or non-involvement of professionals in building and construction process.

    There is no better way to prevent building collapse outside the coming-together of all building professionals- architects, engineers, builders, estate surveyors and valuers-to ensure approvals are adhered to and also to certify every stage of a building project. This way, it would be easy to know when a developer is cutting corners or compromising on regulatory permits and approvals.

    Qualified builders or contractors on building projects should be adequately supervised by the architect and engineer throughout the construction period. The estate surveyor and valuer is key to the process. In most instances, he acts as a consultant to the property owner, and as an intermediary between other professionals and the property owner, until the final two stages in construction which are the disposition and maintenance stage.

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    The pre-construction stage in the life of a building involves establishing a performance model for the building, and this is an essential pre-requisite for the proper and effective management of that building, including its maintenance. Since the materials used during construction are usually not purchased or supplied at once, a standard benchmarking needs to be done. This involves identifying, at the early stages, the most appropriate procurement system to be adopted through the construction phase.

    The estate surveyor and valuer ensures that only approved materials are used as component input in the construction. A compromise in the standard would affect the fabrics and component maintenance requirement in future, during construction therefore, he enforces specifications in order to avoid future maintenance issues.

    An architect without the guidance and direction of a maintenance expert trades functionality for aesthetic. Buildings that are designed without the maintenance implication in mind suffer functional defect from the start.

    To avoid this, the estate surveyor and valuer would work hand in hand with the architect by communicating the future maintenance consequence of building design to him. This helps the architect integrate maintenance implications into his design and prevent buildings from collapsing.

    •Adeyemi Moses Adeolu,Lagos.