By Jude Njoku

AGainst the backdrop of last week’s threat by a coalition of civil society groups and professional bodies in the construction industry to press for the standardization of cement production and importation because many cement companies allegedly produce the inferior 32,5 grade, built environment experts have called for the enforcement of the use of cement in the right mix to ensure that the rising occurrence of collapsed buildings is stemmed.

The President of the Nigerian Institute of Building, NIOB, Mr. Chuks Omeife and a past President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, NIStructE, Engr. Kunle Adebajo told Vanguard Homes & Property in separate interviews weekend, that the two grades of cement are used for different types of construction work and wrong usage could lead to structural failures.

Structural failures
Their views came on a day Messrs Dangote Cement Nigeria Plc, distanced itself from the companies producing substandard cement in the country. The company explained that it produces only the 42.5 grade of cement in its three plants at Ibeshe, Gboko and Obajana.

The two experts explained that while the 42.5 grade is used for heavy engineering construction works, the 32.5 grade of cement is used for minor works like pavements, culverts and rendering.
Omeife added that as part of enforcing the right mix, the construction process should be closely monitored by the builder. He regretted that in Nigeria, building construction has become an all-comers field, hence the plethora of collapsed buildings that dot the nation’s landscape.

He further explained that  quacks have taken over the construction industry because those found culpable whenever a building goes down, are not punished. “Nobody has been taken to court for being responsible for a collapsed building; what the government does is to take over the land for public use,” he said. The NIOB president stated that architects, engineers and builders have a role to play in the enforcement of the right specification.

“What the coalition of civil societies is doing is very good but they should go a little further. What about enforcing the right usage on site? The regulatory authorities should ensure that a builder is appointed to manage the construction site so that if anything wrong happens, somebody would be held responsible,” he said.
Engr Adebajo described the threat by the coalition as making a mountain out of a mole. According to him, the difference between the 42.5 and 32.5 grade of cement is not much.

He however noted that while the 42.5 is used for heavy engineering projects like bridges, the 32.5 grade is used for lesser construction works.  He posited that what really matters is the end result. What we should be talking about is the consistency of the product. We don’t want the February batch of cement to be different from the batch in March,” Adebajo who noted that a trial mix is always done before arriving a the appropriate mix for a particular construction work, he  said.

Distancing Dangote Group from companies manufacturing the 32.5 grade of cement, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. DVG Edwin who spoke through the Director of Sales and Marketing, Mr. Ekanem Etim, called on the Standards Organisation of Nigeria SON, to enforce the regulation that only cement that meets the 42.5 grade is manufactured or imported into the country.

He noted that before now when cement was largely imported, SON had insisted that only 42.5 grade of cement  was allowed into Nigeria and wondered why upon domestication of production, the same regulation should not be applied.

“Some years back, the preponderance of cement in this country was imported and the standard laid out by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, was that you cannot bring in any cement that was below 42.5. Upon domestication of the production, we believe that the standard should not be lowered. We at Dangote Cement, remain steadfast in meeting up to that particular standard. We are a key player in this industry and we believe that Nigerians deserve the best in quality and service delivery. That is why we take exception to the statement by the coalition of civil society groups that all cement manufacturers are not meeting up to the standard”.

“On one breadth, we want to align with the civil society that there is need for standards to be maintained.
If the Standards Organisation of Nigeria had insisted that imported cement should come in 42.5 grade, every manufacturer, be it local or international, should meet that standard. To that extent, we should all comply so that Nigerians can get the very best from what we produce in this country. SON should step in, do what is required of them, so that we can give Nigerians the best and nip the incidents of collapsed buildings in the bud,” Mr. Etim said.