The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, said that 22 buildings collapsed across Nigeria between January and July 2024.
COREN, the regulatory body governing the practice of engineering added that 33 people have lost their lives in these incidents.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja, COREN’s president, Professor Sadiq Abubakar said that during the period under review, Lagos accounted for 27.27 per cent, Abuja and Anambra 18.18 per cent each.
According to Abubakar, Ekiti and Plateau followed with 9.09 per cent each and Kano, Taraba and Niger states accounted for 4.55 per cent each.
His words, “Records also showed that Lagos takes the lead in the incidences of building collapse. As a matter of fact, over 91 buildings have collapsed resulting in the death of over 354 persons in Lagos from 2012 to date.”
Similarly, the COREN president noted that in Abuja, about 30 buildings have collapsed from 1993 till date resulting in the death of more than 64 persons and injury of many.
Causes of building collapse in Nigeria
Further noting that the incessant incidents of building collapse across the country have become worrisome, Abubakar said there is a need for deep reflection and collaboration of all stakeholders in stemming the tide.
He said, “While we commiserate with all victims and families, we want to commend the efforts of all emergency and security services for their prompt response at the time.”
Reeling out some of the causes of building collapse, Abubakar said these mishaps vary from one location to the other.
While some building collapses can be due to ageing, the engineer said investigations conducted over time have also shown that contractors now use substandard construction materials.
He added that in some other cases, structural failures were also responsible while others show the illegal change of use of buildings, illegal addition of floors, quackery, inadequate or lack of supervision and oversight.
According to him, other factors were faulty foundations or lack of conduct of soil/geotechnical investigation, and sharp and corrupt practices.
Abubakar also commended the respective affected state governments for constituting a panel of inquiry to review the various cases to find out the immediate and remote causes and prevent future occurrences.
No time for blame games
Noting that there is a dire situation on the ground, Abubakar said that all hands must be on deck to ensure that era of building collapse is eradicated.
“All professionals within the built environment have a role to play in this.
’’In this regard, we have identified and categorised many stakeholders that we will be engaging shortly,” he said
Recently, a building housing, Saint Academy in Jos, Plateau State collapsed while school children were writing their examinations.
The incident Daily Patriot gathered resulted in the death of 22 people while over a hundred others including secondary school students and the staff of the school were injured.
