The dearth of skilled artisans in the Nigerian construction industry may have opened the floodgate to influx of foreign artisans from the West Coast into Nigeria. Hordes of foreign artisans such as tillers, plumbers, bricklayers, molders, painters, Plaster of Paris (POP) installers, masons, welders, carpenters and others, from neighbouring countries of Togo, Republic of Benin, and Ghana, have taken over jobs from Nigerians. The resultant capital flight and loss of jobs, which lead to high rate of crime among Nigerian youth, are giving operators and stakeholders in the built industry cause for concern. Assistant Editor, OKWY IROEGBU- CHIKEZIE reports.
The Nigerian construction industry has been hit by a dearth of local artisans, technicians and young apprentices. Currently, the country has a dying population of men who are tillers, plumbers, bricklayers, molders, painters, Plaster of Paris (POP) installers, masons, welders, carpenters etc. They are being replaced by skilled artisans, technicians and and apprentices from neighbouring countries such as Republic of Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
At various construction sites across the country, the services of these foreign artisans are often engaged by builders, architects and engineers, even as millions of Nigerian youths with low-skill acquisition and the desire for quick money roam the streets without jobs, while others take to crime such as Internet scam, armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping, and to the most ludicrous, ritual killing.
Checks by The Nation revealed that, indeed, the dearth of skilled artisans and technicians is the bane of the Nigerian construction industry. The industry is said to be top-heavy with more regulated professionals, leaving non-regulated artisans at the base. And the collapse of technical education at the lower levels of education is said to have made it difficult to grow the numbers needed to sustain the industry.
The perceived lack of interest in technical education on the part of government is believed to have robbed Nigeria of quality artisans while opening the floodgate to foreigners from the West Coast who boast the required technical and vocational skills to fill the gap. The belief, therefore, is that re-jigging the nation’s vocational schools and skill acquisition centres and technical colleges to make it attractive to burgeoning youth population will reverse the trend.
Industry operators and stakeholders agree on the need to re-jig the nation’s educational system to give more importance to technical education, noting that therein lies the country’s hope of technological advancement. According to them, the situation right now, where jobs that should have been handled by Nigerians are taken up by foreign artisans is detrimental to the growth of the construction sector.
For instance, the Managing Director, Ethical Business and Management Associates (‘EBAM’), Afolabi Adedeji, told The Nation that the construction industry in general, and home building specifically are the bedrock of national development. According to him, they are a veritable barometer or yardstick for making a rapid assessment of the economic performance and by extension, how well the nation’s macro-economy is being managed.
Adedeji, an Engineer, therefore, lamented the depletion of artisans in the construction sector such as masons and/or bricklayers, carpenters, joiners, form work, roofing, furniture, steel fixers and iron benders and welders. Others are painters, mechanics, machine operators, scaffolders, crane drivers, tilers, terrazzo and floor finishers.
An obviously worried Adedeji said these are indeed, trying times for construction professionals in Nigeria and prospective home owners who are not only mindful of the high cost of building where prices of materials cannot be guaranteed beyond a few days, to poor workmanship by indigenous artisans.
He lamented the state of indigenous artisans and recalled that in the mid-1970s up to the end of the Second Republic, Nigeria had a large influx of immigrants from other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries into Nigeria.
Adedeji noted that when Nigerians where rushing to regular schools, the young men from neigbouring countries of Ghana, Togo, Benin etc that had vocational education in their countries took over the construction industry as bricklayers, welders, steel fixers, electricians, plumbers and painters.
“Unfortunately, Nigerian artisans, technicians and professionals are not as skilled as their West Coast neighbours in quality workmanship. They are inconsistent, can take three jobs at a time, they renege on promises unlike our neighbours from Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic etc. who are contented with having a single job at a time and judiciously do the job unlike Nigerian artisans who can take four jobs at a time and not meet timelines,” Adedeji said.
He said a typical Nigerian artisan will take job as a bricklayer, tiler and plumber without being good in any unlike their neigbours from ECOWAS who have longer years of training and have semblance of integrity as they usually do not bite more than they can chew. They respect the bond and maintain agreements. They are also available when needed, and under the required terms and conditions of engagement.
The EBAM boss said: “After the turn of the millennium in Nigeria, with an apparent shortage of indigenous manpower of the right calibre, skill sets, and/or experience in the construction industry, enthusiastic new entrants into the crafts and trades also seem to be getting fewer.
“The building collapse problem in Nigeria is also causing reputational damage for local players. Hence, perception issues, which are shifting lucrative patronage to our colleagues from ECOWAS Countries”.
He also lamented that the oil boom became a curse as Nigeria stopped her skill acquisition centres and technical colleges and preferred higher education even when their academic capability is in question.
Chief Uchendu Uwalaka, an importer, told The Nation that when he built his house in Lagos and saw how the foreign artisans worked in his building project he made up his mind to take them to his village in the South East. He confessed that they are not only trust worthy, hardworking, insist on quality work but also respect timelines.
He said he was surprised when he witnessed them measuring his wall before plastering. His words: “They carried out every part of the building process with the correct measurement. I watched them measure the cement mix, window, doors and indeed everything they did. You will never see them idling away or taking unnecessary breaks no matter how young they are.
“Unfortunately our local artisans do not have time for such thorough job; they will take your job and collect others without batting an eye lid. The most annoying and disappointing thing is that they don’t have enough ethics to keep them in check”.
Hassan Oyebode, a builder, also said he started engaging the services of artisans from ECOWAS neigbours in the past 15 years. He said he took the decision because of their commitment to duty and respect for timelines. He said: “I build houses for my clients who have panache for tastefully finished buildings. I cannot risk our local artisans who will make you redo a job time and after time.”
Oyebode added: “Sometimes they (local artisans) will disappoint you with annoying excuses such as a member of their family fell ill and he is in hospital, which, if you investigate, is a lie because he is most probably working on another site. They have a penchant to engage in several projects at a time because of greed and will not bite an eye lid for absenting themselves from your job because they have collected jobs from different places”.
While insisting that he has nothing to do with local artisans, Oyebode urged government to work on establishing vocational centres and skill acquisition centres where artisans can be trained and certified with good work ethics.
To reverse the trend
Although, the consensus of industry operators, experts and other stakeholders is that it is in Nigeria’s national interest to keep a substantial percentage of construction industry jobs among her citizens, they, however, urged the government and relevant ministries such as Works & Housing at both the Federal and State levels to apply themselves to the reorientation, career talks and guidance & counselling of youths on the need to have skills that can make them self-dependent and be entrepreneurs who can create jobs for others.
Corporate efforts to train indigenous artisans
In 2017, Dangote Industries Limited budgeted N6 billion for training artisans nationwide, the President/Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, announced plans to spend N6 billion on the training of 100,000 artisans in the country, in collaboration with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
He promised that the training would be done annually, as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to further reduce unemployment among the nation’s army of youth. He said it was part of the groups’ effort at creating employment, adding that Nigeria needs to create the needed jobs to keep the teeming youths off the streets as well as cut down crime rate.
Dangote said: “Our foundation is planning to train the nation’s artisans, about 100,000, and this will be done annually, we are doing this in partnership with the ITF. “We can’t afford to sit down and be watching our youth not having jobs. Its dangerous.”
Also, last month, in Ibadan, Oyo State, the cement giant trained bricklayers on the use of their Falcon Cement. They had practical training on the Falcon Cement variant, one of the brands of the Dangote Cement and the correct mixture of cement and sand which are the major components of the materials needed for building construction.
Similarly, Lafarge Cement has trained 300 bricklayers to add to their skill in the building industry. The programme is aimed at helping bricklayers in the country keep up to date with global standard practice in the industry.
The one-day training covered core areas of bricklaying such as concrete mix designs, cement application for special purposes, proper use of water in cement mixing, safety at height and issues on health care for the professionals.
The thing is that in the sector, the little things that may seem inconsequential in the course of building construction usually account for a significant difference in terms of the overall budget. The company said they are concerned about the safe and sustainable use of building solutions to provide housing and infrastructure for stakeholders.
Earlier in 2014, the former National President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr. Tunde Lasabi, had claimed that Nigeria lost over N9 billion annually to artisans and craftsmen from neighbouring countries working for companies in the country. He attributed the development to absence of required skills and technical expertise.
In 2016, the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) also held a conference to address the dearth of artisans. Similarly, in 2018, the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) in collaboration with N-Power said it trained 16,800 artisans nationwide under the Federal Government Artisans Empowerment Programme to boost the sector.
