There are two major seasons in Nigeria- rainy and dry season. We are in the rainy season in Nigeria as I write. It is very common at this time of the year to hear of building collapse due to flooding or heavy wind and some other preventable remote causes. The collapse of building due to earthquake is not very frequent in Nigeria.
In recent times, there have been painful incidences of building collapse across many states in the country resulting in loss of lives, time, effort and huge amount of resources apart from the near irreparable damage that is done on the psych of surviving victims of such unfortunate incidences.
All stakeholders in the building industry has the responsible of ensuring that buildings serve the primary purpose of providing safety and protection.
The root causes of building collapse in the country is traceable to a number of factors among which are:
Faulty Design
When there are fault in architectural or engineering drawing which essentially result when architect neglect to do or insist on the performance of feasibility studies, soil and site investigation.
It is difficult to imagine how an architect can come up with an acceptable and adequate structural design without performing these basic things. Yet this practice is prevalent in Nigeria.
Ideally, engineers should perform soil test on lands met for building purposes especially when a massive buildings is to be constructed. Often times this is not the case as builders and their clients are more interested in profits and cutting cost.
I once worked in an organization that does a lot of construction work. Once of the things that never ceases to amaze and frighten me about the buildings that were constructed while I was there is that they were never purpose-built.
They could be altered and adjusted anytime the owner feel like it. They can be made to serve some new functions that catches his fancy even against professional advice.
For example, there was a building that was originally designed to be 3-storey. The owner woke up a certain day and decides that he wants a 4-storey building when the original construction was almost in its last phase. The professionals working on the site advised against it but the proprietor threaten to fire them if they fail to comply with his instructions.
So against their better judgement they went ahead and obliged the proprietor whose philosophy with respect to building is: He that pays the piper dictate the tune!
As I write, the building is only partially being utilized though completed. Nevertheless, there are plans to put the building to use very soon. One can only imagine what the future holds for the users of the building given the construction conditions.
Faulty construction and use of inferior materials:
Building contractors often deviate from specification given by professional such as architects and engineers to maximal gains.
This is also why the block molding industry uses one bag of 50 kg cement to mold as many as 40-45 numbers of 225 mm (9 inch) blocks watering down the quality and strength of the block such that in the process of holding up the block, they break into pieces. I have personally witness this on several occasions.
This particular practice is so ingrained in many of the bricklayers that thorough supervisions is the only advisable remedy to prevent its occurrence. This remedy is applicable to the suppliers and usage of other construction materials on site.
Corruption
Corruption in its many shades and forms is responsible for many incidences of building collapse in the country. Officials saddled with the responsibility of approving building plans and monitoring buildings are all too often only interested in what they stand to gain from their clients rather than performing their duties.
The only time that government officials are seen pulling down structures on account of "supposedly faulty this or that" is when it is obvious to the thinking populace that they are out to witch hunt a perceived enemy. Thus, this important oversight duty of government to protect her people is fast losing its credibility.
Building firms also indulge in corrupt practices that endanger the lives of people in the long run. Most often, in a bid to save cost, unqualified staff are engaged to man construction work not minding the great dangers associated with such risk.
Natural Disasters
As mentioned earlier, natural disasters such as flooding, fire outbreak, heavy wind storm, lightening, thunder and earthquakes have been responsible for building collapse.
Other factors that are also responsible for building collapse in Nigeria that have not be highlighted specifically can be easily categorized into the main points that have been outlined above.
Built to last
If our buildings are to last- withstanding all aforementioned natural disasters and other preventable remote causes of building collapse, it is high time we took seriously proper planning, monitoring and supervisions of our building to ensure they conform to specification of qualified professionals in the field.
In like manner, professionals in the building industry should uphold the ethics of their professions with high sense of integrity rather than acting as pawn in the hand ignorant clients.
The Urban and Regional town planners saddled with the responsibility of safe buildings should restore dignity back to their work.
Materials utilized for building must be of standard quality suited for their purposes in construction.
In Conclusion
Many of the causes of building collapse in the country are preventable if adequate measures are taken to ensure safety.
References
Building Collapse in Nigeria: The Causes, Effects, Consequences and Remedies