Experts tell Neusroom the possible cause of constant building collapse in Lagos
The collapse of a seven-storey building under construction at Banana Island, Ikoyi area of Lagos State on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, has generated concern over the standard measures engineering firms put in place during the construction of buildings in Lagos State. While the Lagos State government said that there were no fatalities, the State recorded over 30 building collapses in 2022 alone. In September 2022, a building collapsed at Oba Idowu Oniru Street, Lagos, and killed six people. One of the most tragic building collapses in the State’s history occurred on November 4, 2021, when a 21-storey building under construction at Ikoyi, crumbled and killed over 40 people.
According to a survey by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), Nigeria has the highest number of building collapses in Africa, ahead of both Kenya and South Africa. Reports show that between 1974 and 2019, over 221 buildings collapsed across Nigeria, with more than half of the collapses occurring in Lagos. Lagos, a city with a population of over 20 million people and Nigeria’s economic hub, reported 167 collapses between 2000 and 2021. This spate of building collapse has displaced more than 6,000 households, with an estimated loss of $3.2 trillion worth of property.
Bethel Madu, a staff of Construction Kaiser Limited, a Lagos-based construction firm, told Neusroom that disregard for the rules and regulations during construction is one of the major reasons why a building will collapse.
According to Madu, what goes on in the construction of a building, especially megastructures, is beyond construction activities going on-site. Madu said that building collapses sometimes are mostly as a result of both “administrative dysfunctionality” from both government agencies and construction firms and also technical and engineering errors.
“Before talking about using substandard materials, I’ll say that maintaining the rules and ethics of construction is crucial in preventing a building from collapsing.”
There are basic professional standards some developers, in order to cut costs, sometimes neglect. These neglects, from engaging the services of unqualified or unskilled builders, refusing to conduct some required tests like a soil test, to deviating from the original plan approved by relevant professional bodies, have cost people their lives.
For instance, prior to when a building is erected, a soil test is carried out to know the holding capacity of the soil and the strength of the soil on which that structure wants to be placed on.
“This soil test is carried out to know the strength and holding capacity of the soil, which will help to determine the kind of foundation suitable for that soil.”
Madu said that care should be taken when laying the foundations of buildings in Lagos.
“Lagos is surrounded by water, and you need a strong foundation. You can’t compare the soil in Lagos and the one in Enugu because Enugu has a more rock-like soil.”
Disregard for building ethics and professionalism has cost hundreds their lives, with properties worth billions of naira.
According to multiple sources, the 21-story building, Fourscore Homes Limited, at Gerard road that collapsed in 2021 was initially approved for 15 floors, not 21. A year before the building collapsed, Prowess Engineering Limited, the original contractor for the building, in a letter on February 20, 2020, withdrew its services on the now-collapsed building. In August 2022, reports from an independent panel commissioned by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu showed that the collapsed building was as a result of negligence by relevant regulatory agencies responsible for the approval and supervision of the building project.
According to Ernest Uchenna, a practising Civil Engineer in Umuahia, faulty structural designs can cause a building to collapse.
“Sometimes, builders often neglect to properly analyse the structural plan of a building before commencing work. When a plan is flawed structurally, the stability of the building will always be in question,” he said.
Structural design is the methodical investigation of the stability, rigidity, and strength of structures.
The use of substandard materials is another factor that contributes to the increased cases of building collapse in Lagos.
“There are different grades of concrete and those grades are always tested to know the strength through a test called culture test to know if the concrete is suitable for that particular building,” Madu said.
Madu pointed out that some developers use substandard grades of concrete to construct mega buildings to save costs. One area where quality is substituted for quantity is in the moulding of blocks. While a bag of 50 kg cement is expected to produce 30 blocks of 15x20x40cm, some use the same bag to produce as many as 50 blocks.
While some developers resort to the use of substandard materials to cut down costs, there is an equally high disregard for regulatory bodies. According to the former Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Idris Salako, who tendered his resignation shortly after the collapse of the seven-story building at Palace Estate, Oba Idowu Oniru Street, Lagos, said that the building was sealed three times but the developer broke the seal and continued with the project. This also shows the extent to which government agencies go to ensure that laws governing building construction are enforced in the State.
“To solve this problem of building collapse is basically by abiding by the rules governing construction and maintaining quality. You have to ensure that every step taken is in line with rules and regulations. Every part involved in property development should maintain integrity and professionalism as core values.”
