The Nation Newspaper

Tag: building

  • Youths urged on nation building

    The Principal Coordinator of Modella Afrik, Raymond Iroham, has urged Nigerian youths to be at the vanguard of promoting the virtues of peace, orderliness and moral rectitude, which are tools for national transformation.

    He spoke at the launch of Modella Afrik at The Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG), Milk and Honey Chapel, Mende, Maryland, Lagos.

    Iroham said young people are the leaders of tomorrow and they must exhibit good leadership qualities that will facilitate growth and development.

    He said governments across the world are grappling with wars, inhuman treatments and terrorism, which are mostly orchestrated by immoral and ungodly youths who would have sought redress when aggrieved through peaceful mechanism.

    He noted that God is in dire need of youths who will surrender themselves to Him and help in the campaign for a safe and better world fit for all to live in.

     

  • Lagos, British Council partner on capacity building

    The final workshop in the “School Leadership Mentoring Programme” aimed at building and improving the capacity of headteachers and education authorities on school leadership and creating a system of mentorship and coaching on school leadership and development was held last week in Lagos.

    Speaking at the occasion, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, said the workshop was a partnership between the British Council and the Ministry of Education; it will assist in improving teaching and learning in Lagos public schools.

    She said the school system would be aligned with new trends in entrenching ICT into the teaching methodology to enhance performance and promote administrative efficiency, thereby. bringing Lagos schools to world standard.

    She added that the state government in its quest to promote ICT education has provided facilities in 110 schools, while 35 secondary schools were provided with e-tutor software in addition to other necessary infrastructure such as furniture, laboratories and books for the rapid development.

    Earlier in her address, the Executive Chairman of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, Mrs. Gbolahan Khadijat Daodu, appreciated the British Council for its continuous efforts towards the development of education and enjoined the beneficiary school principals and Head teachers to rededicate themselves and show more commitment in their leadership styles in their day to day activities.

    Both Mr. Alan Curry, Regional Director, British Council, Sub-Sahara Africa and Mr. David Higgs, Country Director, said the School Leadership Mentoring Programme started with a gathering of relevant stakeholders and policy makers to discuss school leadership..

     

  • Woman, baby injured in Ibadan building collapse

    Woman, baby injured in Ibadan building collapse

    A woman and her baby were yesterday injured when a building collapsed in Agugu, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The building reportedly gave way due to old age and lack of maintenance.

    Though some residents said both woman and her baby died in the building, the chairman of the landlords’ association, Mr Tijani Sanni, said the woman was only injured.

    Sanni, who is the association’s chairman in Iyana-Idiobi, Agugu, explained that the woman was on her way to a ceremony in Oke-Ibadan when the building collapsed as she was passing by.

    Sanni said: “We don’t know the woman. All we were able to gather is that she came to Ibadan from Lagos to attend a ceremony at Oke-Ibadan.”

    The chairman said the association, with the family of the building owner, was planning to demolish the structure.

    He said: “At the moment, we are looking at the possibility of demolishing the ruins. We don’t need the government anymore at this stage. We are capable of doing it on our own. We shall call on the government, if we need them.”

    A resident, who identified himself as Adewusi, said he witnessed the incident.

    According to him, the building is over 100 years old and it gave way at 4:30pm.

    He said: “The building collapsed suddenly as the woman, who was just passing by with her child, got to the spot.

    “It was so serious. The building gave no sign. We were all surprised. She was quickly rushed to the hospital. That is the only thing I can say about the incident.”

    A representative of the owners of the building, Mr. Taiwo Adebisi, said: “We are already discussing with the executives of the landlords’ association on the next line of action. We are sure that an urgent action shall be taken.”

    Acting police spokesman, Daniel Oboyim, confirmed the incident.

    He said nobody was trapped or killed in the building.

    Oboyi added: “A woman, who was passing by, was slightly affected as rubbles flew and scratched her on the body. She was taken to a hospital and she has been responding to treatment. It is not a serious accident.”

     

  • Challenges of colour variation in painting

    The fundamental function of painting in a building is the preservation of the exposed construction materials from deterioration.

    To enhance the aesthetic value of buildings, the decorating aspect of painting becomes prominent, leading to colour selection. Painting reveals the poorness or quality of plastering and rendering.

    During painting, crevices in rendered walls become visible, enabling concealment with the application of poly filler and coats.

    Smoothness of wall surface is appreciated in gloss or emotion paint. A poorly rendered wall surface necessitates, in most cases, the use of textured paint in order to hide the roughness of the wall surface. Of course, textured paint protects the external walls from serious weather effects, however, it provides better grip for reptiles.

    It is quite difficult to place the actual colour of a paint until it has sufficiently become dry on the wall. And according to Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), paint after 168 hours of exposure shall exhibit little or no change in colour.

    On the field, spreading rate or coverage of a paint has been discovered, at times, to be at variance with the specification even when thinned with water not exceeding manufacturer’s instruction and under normal application.

    Applying another coat for different batches cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, using a particular colour paint from different batches in the same room or on the same stretch of wall is risky as noticeable colour variation might appear.

    Science and technology have witnessed great acceleration in recent times all over the world, creating perfection in the production of various goods. Improvement in paint production in Nigeria should not yield to defeatist philosophy of impossibility.

    The embarrassing and costly colour variation issue should be addressed with all seriousness to enhance the value of painting and decorating in the nation’s building industry.