By Kingsley Adegboye

Disturbed by the rising incidents of collapsed buildings in the country, the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Institute of Building, NIOB, Mr. Kunle Awobodu has called on the Federal Government to establish an agency with specific responsibility to monitor building materials used in building constructions.

Awobodu who is a former chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Institute, said the establishment of the body which will be independent of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has become imperative. “To subdue the epidemic of bribery and corruption that might afflict such a sensitive organisation, President Goodluck Jonathan should put sentiments aside and be result-oriented. People of proven integrity should be considered for such an assignment. The president just needs to summon up a rare courage and repeat the experiment he conducted using a committed Jega and his likes’’, Awobodu stated.

Awobodu noted that “a building which is believed to be an enclosure meant to protect human beings, becomes dysfunctional when it turns 180 degrees into an enclosure that endangers human life,”.

Noting that the major cause of building collapse in Nigeria is poor quality of materials used in construction, Awobodu pointed out that this has prompted a fundamental question about which agency of the government is responsible for the monitoring of quality of materials being used for building construction in Nigeria.

The NIOB spokesman who noted that in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, building collapse was a strange terminology in the Nigerian construction industry, pointed out that the drive for excess profit among manufacturers, distributors and retailers of building materials was minimal then because SON was in control.

“But as physical development advanced rapidly, especially in Lagos, Naira depreciation, inflation and the dwindling economic power of prospective building owners ushered in an era of illegality, sharp practices in the construction industry leading to gradual reduction in quality of materials to mesh with the low purchasing power of buyers while suppliers were unwilling to reduce the percentage of their profits.

‘The NIOB image maker used a number of questions to buttress his argument that poor materials are responsible for most structural failures in the country. “How frequent are the building materials that are being sourced locally and those imported undergo quality monitoring or checks? Are the blocks being moulded in different parts of Nigeria meeting the SON specification? What are the chloride, alkaline and carbon-dioxide content of cement being used for our building construction? Any expiry date on the cement bags? What are checks on the cement strength? Do our iron bars meet the required minimal standard of 410N/mm2 yield stress or satisfy the 12% minimum elongation under test? Does the timber being used for roofing attain the required strength or maturity? Why do we have varying qualities of electrical and plumbing materials in the Nigerian building industry?