‘We’ve been neglected by govt’

Last Saturday was the second anniversary of the Ita Faaji building collapse. The five-storey building, with a penthouse and a primary school on the second floor, killed about 20 persons, including pupils. The Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB) marked the anniversary with the theme “Building collapse and lessons learnt”, reports OKWY IROEGBU­CHIKEZIE

In March 19, 2019, a five-story building collapsed on Lagos Island. Buried in its bowels were tenants and pupils of a school which occupied some floors in the building.

It was a pathetic sight as many of the tenants and kids who had come to school that morning never returned home alive. There were reports that 20 people, among them, pupils, died in the incident.

However, with effective rescue by agencies of the Lagos State Government, firms and organisations, no fewer than 60 people were saved, though with severe injuries.

To mark the second anniversary of the incident, that drew the ire of Nigerians, the Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB) at the weekend held a forum, which provided an opportunity for parents to vent their anger on the state government for neglecting them. They urged it to set up a committee on the collapsed building.

Representing the parents of the pupils, Mrs Omowunmi Balogun said: “Our scars are still fresh. We are hearing that the owners of the land are using their connection to start construction on the site on which our innocent children perished. Some of us were invited by NIOB last year for the rememberance and this year again, but nothing concrete has been said concerning our plight. We insist that our children will not die in vain. The government should compensate us and insist that those responsible for our plight are apprehended and adequate punishment meted out to them.”

NIOB President Kunle Awobodu explained that the body was an advocacy group and not a government agency and that its duty was to ensure that the government and the people did right, especially in the sector.

He said the group brought school bags and other things the pupils needed to go to school to relieve their parents of some burden.

He said:  “We empathise with all the survivors of building collapse and those who have lost loved ones in various collapses.The school children at Ita-Faaji and others who survived one collapse or the other need care and attention to pick up their lives again in addressing the scars. Help and counselling in overcoming the trauma of such collapse remains necessary.

“This building that collapsed at Ita-Faaji immediately Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu won the Lagos State gubernatorial election served as a challenge to the then incoming government on the rise in the spate of building collapse and the importance of addressing the building collapse menace dispassionately.”

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“The outcome of many investigations on collapsed buildings has identified inappropriate management of the building production process on sites as  the major problem. The interwoven complex activities of building construction require expertise in their management. The expert to handle this delicate process is the trained and certified builder, who has been licensed by the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON).

“The collapse of the five-storey building at Ita-Faaji exposed the loophole in the law and development process that had been severally exploited to promote quackery on building sites, in Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general.  The Lagos State House of Assembly took steps to decisively block the loophole through a stakeholder’s public hearing on its physical planning and building control regulations which regulations were eventually signed by the Commissioner responsible for Physical Planning and Urban Development.These steps birthed the 2019 physical planning and building control regulations of Lagos State.”

According to him, the key parts of the regulations is the correct and unambiguous provision of  Section  4, Subsection 2 of the 2019 Lagos State Building Control Regulations which states: “The site execution of every building under construction shall be managed by a registered builder.”

He noted the relevance of March 13, 2019, saying on that day innocent, helpless but promising school children lost their lives (due to system failure of older Nigerians).  March 13 is thus symbolically chosen to remember Ita-Faaji building collapse victims and other victims of building collapse in various parts of the country, he stated.

On why the building collapsed, he said it was due to quackery, non-adherence to building regulations, lack of accountability and failure to bring culprits to book, saying these applied to other building collapses in the country.

The NIOB chief regretted that Lagos accounted for about 60 per cent percent of building collapses nationwide.

Awobodu lamented that even when there was an effort at prosecution, such sometimes come too late to achieve the required effects of deterrence. Sometimes, the efforts towards prosecution are either frustrated or prolonged as a result of sentiments and political considerations.

The use of experts would help this nation overcome the menace of building collapse, he added.

Former Director-General, Lagos Safety Commission, Wahaab Oki, asked Lagosians  to patronise professionals. He commended NIOB for taking up the advocacy.

Honorary Secretary, Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Lagos Chapter, Niyi Olagoke, urged experts to imbibe ethics of their profession.

He said: “If sites are monitored and relevant laws implemented, it will make for sanity. Unfortunately, developers are only out to make money through sharp practices as against adherence to building regulations.”

The government, Olagoke added, should get rid of quacks on building sites  and ensure the safety of lives during and after construction, by having laws and regulations that meet or exceed the basic minimum requirements of the Nigerian National Building Code.

Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA), Lagos Chapter, David Majekodunmi, asked experts not to compromise quality.

He  urged the government to enact  laws; ensure regulation, monitoring and compliance to avoid building collapse.