By Jude Njoku

The National Building Code which stipulates the procedure and minimum practice requirements for the development of the various types of buildings required for human occupancy in Nigeria was approved by the National Executive Council as well as the Council of State as far back as 2006.

The Code also stipulates who does what in the process of buildings. The frequent collapse of buildings and undisciplined environmental development across the country, have been attributed to the inability of the Federal and State Governments to enforce the provisions of the Code.

Against this backdrop, the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, CORBON, the agency empowered by law to regulate the practice of building in the country, has called on the National Assembly to pass without further delay, the bill to enforce the provisions of the Code.

CORBON Chairman, Prof Akin Akindoyeni told newsmen in Lagos last week that the passage of the bill into law, would allow the prescribed sanctions against those responsible for collapse of buildings to be activated as a matter of routine.

Enforcement of Building Code will check such collapses.

Prof Akindoyeni explained that as soon as the Building Code was approved, CORBON developed a draft Urban Planning Commission Bill which it submitted to all the State Houses of Assembly for passage into laws. He regretted that only Lagos, Adamawa and Ogun States, have done something in that direction.

“This means that in all the States except Lagos, anyone can submit development applications for building and also commence work and possibly complete the building without any input by a registered professional and without any kind of development control,” he lamented.

The CORBON boss enjoined all Nigerians who have money to build, “to engage the services of professionals, especially builders. If you do not, the next building that collapses might just do so on one of your relatives”.

He insisted that development should not be haphazard and unplanned. “Governments should enact veritable Urban Planning Laws which are sensitive to the safety and comfort of the citizenry.

When people can build where there are no infrastructure like roads, drainage, electricity and water supply, the environment becomes vulnerable to the games that nature plays, such as flooding, landslides and unsightly waste dumping,” he said, adding that town master plans properly scheduled for serial development by qualified town planners is the answer.

This, he said, can be properly done if the area has been accurately surveyed by professional and licenced Land Surveyors.

Prof Akindoyeni was pissed with the operations of the Bureau of Public Procurement which according to him, is dancing to the tune of the World Bank and some expatriate contracting firms.

The Bureau, the CORBON chairman said, should make it mandatory that all contract procurement documents must include quality management plans, health and safety management plans as well as production programmes prepared by a registered and currently licenced builder as provided for in the National Building Code.