Building collapse: Don advocates planning authorities autonomy

University don, Timothy Nubi, has advocated the autonomy of planning authorities including town planners, as part of measures to check high incidence of building collapse in Nigeria.

Nubi, a professor of Estate Management at the University of Lagos, said the Ministry of Town Planning should also embark on advocacy so that people are made aware of the dangers of a collapsible building in their neighbourhood.

By so doing, they should be able to notify the government or the relevant authorities of a faulty building that could collapse if left unchecked.

Nubi, who spoke at the inaugural sitting of a tribunal of inquiry on building collapse in Lagos, explained that building collapse was only a pointer to the numerous problems that bedevil the entire building system such as unqualified builders, greed, poor soil system and lack of building regulation.

In his opinion, it is imperative for professional bodies such as Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to visit their members’ register and be sure those practising are still up to date.

Fred Coker, president, Association of Consulting Architects of Nigeria, agreed with Nubi, pointing out that “building collapse was as a result of the decay in society, our values and moral code.

“The spate of building collapse in the country has to do with lack of accountability at all levels of society,” he added.

According to Coker, the major causes of building collapse are poor structural engineering design, use of substandard materials and workmanship.

“A situation whereby contractors cut corners, and consultants are not doing their work as expected is because they know that no form of punishment will be meted out to them in the event of any problem and this is a manifestation of the decay,” he posited.

He is of the opinion that Nigeria will still have building collapse in the future until the decay in the society is reversed.

Nubi recommended that housing finance system should be structured to ensure that disbursement of long-term funding was sustained so that anybody willing to borrow from the system can freely access loan facilities, and raised the need for a thorough examination of the procurement system in general.