By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

The news of collapsed and burnt buildings have been a reoccurring issue in Nigeria, but the sad part is that nothing seem to be changing. Tomorrow, another building might collapse or burn down and Nigerians would carry on as if nothing happened.

Last Sunday, a building at Bashiru Street, Ojodu, Lagos caught fire, just five days after another building belonging to Foursquare Gospel Church collapsed in the same street.

The three-storey building, with no fewer than 30 flats, went up in flames around 8am and no fewer than four persons were seriously injured while properties, which cost could not be estimated as at press time were reduced to rubble.

Before the men of the Lagos State Fire Service would come to the rescue of the occupants, eight flats had already been burnt. The intervention of the firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other flats and buildings.

Some time ago, in Auchi, Edo State, a building collapsed. 12 people were killed and another six were injured very seriously. Nobody was prosecuted, nobody paid any compensation, and nobody was given anything, nothing at all. These people died for nothing. And the story goes on and on.

It is due to these incessant incidences that the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, is setting a new agenda with the enforcement of compulsory insurances. For the good of the country and her citizens, the compulsory insurances must be embraced by all.

Amongst the five compulsory insurances in enforcement is the Occupier’s Liability Insurance which should be purchased by owners of buildings.

Section 65 (1) of the Insurance Act, 2003, states thus, “Every public building shall be insured with a registered insurer against the hazards of collapse, fire, earthquakes, storm and flood. ‘Public building’ in this section includes a tenement house, hostel, a building occupied by a tenant, lodger or licensee and any building to which members of the public have ingress and egress for the purpose of obtaining educational medical service or for the purpose of recreation or transaction of business. The insurance policy under subsection (1) shall cover the legal liabilities of an owner or occupier of premises in respect of loss of or damage to property or bodily injury or death suffered by any user of the premises and third parties.”

Therefore, any owner of a building who does not have the above insurance violates the provisions of the Occupiers’ Liability Insurance Law.

Not having any insurance cover is very disadvantageous because when people lose manpower and assets, the country losses. But with insurance, there is replacement and when you have replacement, it is as if you have not lost anything.

According to experts, the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on insurance says that all public buildings should be insured. And in the event of an accident, all those affected should be compensated one way or the other. So, the compulsory insurances enforcement has to be achieved for the sake of this country.

However, Occupiers Liability is just one of the compulsory insurances being enforced by NAICOM. Others are Builder’s Liability Insurance mandated by Sections 64 of the Insurance Act, 2003; Medical Professionals Liability Insurance mandated by Act 35 of 1999 establishing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); Employers’ Liability Insurance; Group Life Insurance for employees as mandated by the Pension Reform Act, 2004 and the Third Party Motor Insurance mandated by the Motor Third Party Act.