BCPG to prevent building collapse, boost quality infrastructure delivery

…as Nigeria records 62 collapse buildings in 2022

Temitope Adebayo

The Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) has said it would focus more on the prevention of building and infrastructure collapse, as well as

boosting quality infrastructure delivery across the nation this year.

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The newly-elected President of the guild, Mr Sulaiman Yusuf, disclose this at the virtual and physical Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on Tuesday 21st of February 2023.

Yusuf promised that his administration would uphold professionalism and quality assurance, even as he praised his predecessor for his foresight and good leadership.

Also speaking at the AGM, the former president of the guild, Mr Eddy Atumonyogo, noted that the guild expressed sadness that in spite of its efforts, Nigeria recorded collapse of 62 buildings in 2022, with Lagos State leading with 20

Atumonyogo, therefore, called for urgent measures to address the issue, addeding that the guild made efforts, including introduction of whistle blowing mechanism, to curb the trend, and would need to do more toward arresting the situation.

He, however, listed the challenges of the guild to include, funding constraints and COVID-19 pandemic which slowed down its activities.

According to him, the guild during his administration did its best to tackle the challenges.

For instance, he said that the guild partnered with governments of Lagos, Ogun and some other states toward effective regulation, monitoring, capacity building and improvements for best practices in construction activities.

Atumonyogo explained that Kano had seven incidents of building collapse in 2022, while Anambra followed closely with five, and Delta and Jigawa recorded four each.

“The guild still has a lot of work to do in persuading the various governments to collaborate with it in monitoring construction activities to ensure best practices as well as enlighten the investing public on the need to engage competent hands.

“Despite all the efforts in year 2022, there were still a total of 62 collapse of buildings, either partially or fully.

“Twenty-three states had incidents of partial or full collapse of buildings, with Lagos State topping the chart with 20 incidents,” he said.

Atumonyogo, therefore, thanked members of the guild for their sacrifices, and urged the new president and executive council to put in their best.

The guest speaker,  who is the Executive Director of University of Lagos Business School, Prof Mike Adebamowo, who spoke on the theme: “Investigating the Political, Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Building Collapse in Nigeria: The Sustainable Pathways for Eradication’’. Called for deployment of technology for monitoring of construction sites to tame quackery and other root causes of building collapse.

Adebamowo said that most buildings that collapsed in recent years, including the 21-storey  building that collapsed in Ikoyi, Lagos State, on Nov. 2021,  did not have experts on site.

He called for restoration of traditional role of architects as the prime consultants, who should work in synergy with the other built environment experts for quality assurance.

According to him, if anything is wrong at the design stage of any project, everything built will be on a faulty foundation and can collapse.

The professor said that tackling collapse of buildings would require commitment from building experts, governments, communities and individuals, and if we don’t go back to basics, we will not be able to address the root cause of the problem.

He expressed dissatisfaction that man-made factors were responsible for  nearly all the collapse of buildings that occurred in Nigeria.

He added that greed and corruption among property owners, building professionals, artisans and governments must be dealt with in Nigeria for sanity to be sustained  in the construction industry. Punishment that should serve as deterrent should be meted out to any professionals or property owners who contravene building control regulations or engage in unethical practices that can lead to building collapse.

He listed heavy fines, forfeiture of professional licence, forfeiture of property and jail terms among the punishments.

“Governments and regulators to adequately fund its regulatory agencies and build its staff’s capacities and to enforce building codes and implement strategies for stemming collapse of buildings.Relevant agencies to continuously audit buildings and bridges to detect distress early and avert collapse, “he said.