By Olasunkanmi Akoni
Lagos State Government, last Wednesday, declared that the state is expected to record normal rainfall this year with total length of 263 days to be accompanied with strong winds, lightning and thunderstorms.

Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, stated this at the presentation of year 2014 annual seasonal rainfall prediction for the state as earlier predicted by Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET.

“From the magnitude of the seasonal prediction for 2014, Lagos State will experience normal rainfall, with minimal intensity compared to the recorded event of last year. The strong winds, lighting and thunderstorms which are regular phenomena during the onset and cessation of rainfall was also predicted to occur in stronger magnitude during this year’s raining period,” he stated.

Thunderstorms and strong winds had been major factors that had led to collapse of masts in the past. The Lagos State Urban Furniture and Regulatory Unit, UFRU, however, has been battling with users of sub standard masts who have refused to heed to directive to replace hollow pipes with the global standard of galvanized steel masts which are not susceptible to collapse.

In 2012,  it was divine intervention that saved scores of worshipers at the premises of H.F.P shopping center, Dolphin Estate, Lagos Island, adjacent to the El-Shaddai Church, located next to the Shopping Centre, when two masts erected within the precinct of the church collapsed while observing “Night Vigil”. Properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed.

Also, on  May 10, 2013, if 52-year old Mr. Adeolu Adeleke had a premonition that he was going to die that fateful day, he wouldn’t have left his house. As a petty trader struggling to make ends meet, he left his home that fateful day to No. 52 Marina where he sold wares by the road side, only to be snatched away by the cruel hands of death during a stormy rainfall.

The incident occurred as Adeleke was trying to shield his wares from rainfall. He didn’t know a faulty hollow mast had caved in and in the process collapsed on him. The mast was said to have fallen from a 2-storey building and crushed him to death.

Another victim, Mr. Ekpe Young, a secondary school teacher was killed by a collapsed telecom mast during a heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm in 2012 at Lagos Island.

Similarly, a telecom mast erected in the premises of Unity Bank Plc at John Street in Idumota Area of Lagos Island collapsed and killed one Mr. Debo Abiodun who left behind a wife and two children.

The case of another on Sunday June 17th, 2012 also collapsed in front of Diamond Bank Plc, Idumagbo Avenue and damaged properties.

Adeleke, Young, Abiodun, cases were some of several other victims out of the estimated 22 million residents who had lost their lives to collapsed masts in Lagos metropolis, with attendant loss of properties worth billions of naira.

Governor Babatunde Fashola speaking at a health safety forum in Lagos blamed the Federal Government for poor regulation and monitoring on the erection of telecommunication masts and towers within the state.

“On this issue of erection of masts, the state government is not competing with the exclusive right of the Federal Government to regulate the activities of the communication companies in the state. But what the Lagos state government is concerned about is that before they erect their masts and towers, they must visit the state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to get approval for their design.

“This is because a mast is a structure that must be subjected to engineering and location regulations. `These are municipal issues that concern the municipal authority of the state, and the quicker we realise this, the better we will be.”

Fashola contended that FG lacks the capacity to regulate the erection of masts and towers in all the 36 states of the federation. So, it must be a state responsibility. `

Also, State House of Assembly Chairman, Committee on Environment, Abiodun Tobun and his Vice Adebimpe Akinsola at a parley with stakeholders in the Telecom sector and representatives of banking institution in the state urged operators and UFRU to put the safety of  residents above other things.

Tobun said government is committed to protecting its citizens from any further disaster that might occur due to negligence on the part of masts owners.

The House had invited the stakeholders over a petition sent by the Lagos Island Government Legislative Arm dated July 21st, 2011 on incessant mast collapse that claimed several lives in the area.

Stakeholders that attended included: representatives of the Lagos Island Legislative Arm; Globacom LTM; UBA Plc; Swief Network; ECOBANK; First Bank; DIZEN; UNION Bank; WEMA Bank; ETISALAT; Skye Bank; Diamond Bank; Unity Bank; NCC Abuja; Keystone Bank; Sterling Bank PLC; Telnet Nigeria Ltd; MTN; GT Bank; C. A. T. Plc, and UFRU.

The lawmakers jointly agreed with NCC that the operators should submit the required documents to UFRU for database planning among others.

Meanwhile, it had been observed that over 5,000 hollow pipe masts, considered sub-standard and unsafe to people and property being used by operators like banks, internet service providers and other companies are susceptible to collapse as they cannot withstand severe pressure from wind and storms. Hollow pipe masts have inflicted damages in homes, leading to sorrow among others.

In a bid to salvage the situation, UFRU, an agency under the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, decided to take the bull by the horns in ensuring that the issue of incessant collapse of masts in the state was brought to a halt or minimized to the barest minimum.

The government decided that all masts users must replace their hollow pipe masts with the new and modern galvanized steel masts. The galvanized steel mast is thick, big and can withstand severe pressure from wind, storms and rusts.

Early last year, UFRU held another stakeholders’ meeting, directing users of hollow masts to replace them with galvanized steel masts and purchasing of the galvanized steel mast must approved by it and an installation fee of N850,000 be paid per installation.

After non compliance from stakeholders, the government in September, 2013 issued 60 days ultimatum to banks, companies, internet providers and others to decommission the hollow masts in their premises and commission the galvanized steel masts, vowing to remove them after the expiration of the ultimatum which elapsed on 31 December, 2013. Setting the pace, Governor Fashola dismantled all hollow masts being used at the State House, Ikeja and replaced them with the galvanized steel masts.

The General Manager, UFRU, Mr. Joe Igbokwe lamented that death caused by faulty masts had become a recurring decimal in the state recently, saying that death tolls had been on the increase and government had come up with a prototype mast that it wanted operators and others to adopt and build. He  stressed that UFRU expected  that operators would change their minds in their interest so as to avoid incurring the wrath of government.

“We have severally engaged and dialogued with banks, internet service providers and other small users who use these local masts to boost their communication systems to see the need to employ new ways of building these structures to stem the tide of these tragic incidents, but they will not listen.

“We have carried out series of structural integrity tests on some of these structures. Our findings from the just concluded structural integrity tests on some of the masts within Lagos metropolis have shown that nearly all masts in the state, about 98 percent, used by banks and other companies are not only defective but accidents waiting to happen at the slightest wind storm.

“The report exposed the causes of this failure to include bad foundation, rusted joints, bad height, space problem, abandoned mast, weather condition, lack of maintenance and use of inferior materials. We have also made it known to them that these tragic incidents of masts collapse and their attendant grave consequences could be reduced to the barest minimum if the operators and other users will listen to us and adopt UFRU standards and specifications.”

He said the time had come for UFRU to wield the big stick. “Insurance companies and other local users must evacuate their old disused and dangerous masts to save lives and property. They have 60 days to go round their branches, remove outdated masts and seek permit to erect new ones. If they fail to do it, UFRU will carry out the task and the companies involved will pick the bill. Enough is enough.”

At the expiration of the ultimatum, UFRU swung into action in January, 2014 by dismantling the hollow pipe masts belonging to First Bank branch, opposite Daily Times; United Bank of Africa, UBA and Union Bank on Acme Road, among others. Services were disrupted in the three banks as all their networks connected to the masts were cut off by UFRU officials, who stormed the banks with armed policemen to enforce the ultimatum.

According to Igbokwe, government had been trying to persuade banks, internet providers and others using masts to switch to the new ones for about two years, lamenting that they had refused to comply with the directive.

“We have been asking banks to remove the disused hollow masts in Lagos State because of the coastal nature of the state and the inherent dangers involved. They think we are not serious. We just started with these three banks. These three banks have not been showing commitment to this issue”.

Igbokwe said for allowing government to dissembled their masts for them, the affected banks would pay N250,000 each as fines for not complying with government’s directive, saying that “we have done away with the hollow type of masts and have moved to the galvanized masts.” He said UFRU have enough manpower to enforce compliance and would not mind whose ox is gored as the safety of lives and properties are paramount to the government.

Despite this action, mast users remained recalcitrant and refused to comply. Due to plea for extension, UFRU issued a final ultimatum to the mast users to obey government’s order or face the consequences. The new deadline is 30 April, 2014.

Igbokwe said, “we want to serve this as a final warning to all concerned. The concerned companies, organizations and small users have been treating the UFRU directive to replace these old masts with disregard. They have begged and asked for more time to comply with the directive and as such, UFRU had shifted the ultimatum for compliance several times while these companies and organizations have consistently refused to comply.

“Since the last ultimatum, only three banks (nameswithheld) have shown serious commitment to comply with this directive. Except these three banks, other banks, insurance companies, government agencies (federal and state), ICT companies, oil companies, hotels, and other small users have ignored our ultimatum to replace these old, dangerous structures.

“Some of the companies  have asked for more time, which we have given between the expiration of the last notice (31 December, 2013) and now (March 2014). UFRU has commenced the decommissioning of these old masts and while we proceed gradually, we will commence total decommissioning of these old masts if they have not been removed by 30 April, 2014. UFRU has been magnanimous on this so far because we did not want to cause disruption to the services of these companies, agencies and organizations.

“We want to notify the general public that UFRU is basically concerned about the safety of Lagosians as it relates to the erection and use of old, substandard masts as the state has recorded loss of human lives, injuries, several damages to buildings and properties with the constant collapse of these masts in several parts of Lagos, especially during the rainy season.