Enforcing stringent regulations will curb incessant building collapse — Expert

A construction expert and Deputy President, International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Africa, George Okoroma, has expressed worry over the reoccurring building collapse in the country and called for appropriate measures to curb it.

Okoroma, who attributed the incidents of collapsed buildings to poor adherence to professional ethics and standards, lamented that the unabated challenge has led to the deaths of many Nigerians, exacerbated the country’s economic woes, and affected growth in the industry.

Okoroma, a former President of the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), stated this during a paper presentation at the 2024 Conference of the Faculty of Engineering in Rivers State University.

The conference, themed “Engineering Practice For National Economic Development And Environmental Sustainability” had Okoroma’s paper presentation titled”Integrity and Ethics in the Practice of Engineering for National Economic Development And Environmental Sustainability” is aimed at educating engineers on the need to adhere to professional ethics, codes and conducts in executing their jobs.

Okoroma in his paper stressed the need to take Integrity and Ethics (I&Es) seriously. He said: “It is important to state that I&Es concerns cut across all sectors of our development economy, be it in architecture, engineering, medicine, food and drugs, judiciary system, politics, and political activities, as compromises in I&Es in any of these sectors will result in corrupt systems that will, in turn, affect national development and environmental sustainability.”

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“But today, we live in a society where I&Es have been thrown to the winds; construction material standards are reduced and adulterated; drug standards are reduced, adulterated, and faked; foodstuffs and many consumable products are reduced in quantity, quality, adulterated, and faked; standards of education falling freely by the day with fake degrees issued by some educational institutions within and outside the shores of our country; politics and political ecosystems have become polluted with unethical conduct where election results are written, announced, and persons declared elected without evidence of voting; the judiciary system is bedevilled with injustice, lies, and purchased judgments, leaving the poor and vulnerable in our society defenseless and hopeless.”

Okoroma, who serves as a mentor to several young engineering professionals, warned about the implications of compromising standards in the construction industry. He said, “In engineering practice, however, we are very conscious of the implications and consequences of the lowering of standards of engineering materials. I believe we have heard this before; if a doctor makes a mistake in his practice only one patient dies; if a lawyer makes a mistake in his defense only one man is found guilty and goes to jail; but if an engineer makes a mistake in design, multiple persons will go down. This is how critical it is.”

“Buildings and structures in general collapse due to poor structural design, poor workmanship, use of poor building materials, poor compliance with specifications, poor quality control, faulty construction methodology, foundation failure, and corruption, which could have been avoided if an expert consulting Engineer was sought by the client or project promoters at the onset.”

He warned about the dangers of using quacks as he attributed some of the construction failures to the use of quacks, asking project developers to be mindful of impostors in the industry. “These quacks, due to their ignorance of the design codes, standards, and ethics, pose great risk and danger to project development and delivery in the Nigerian ecosystem,” he said.

He said, when the right professionals are engaged in any infrastructure development, they will deploy their experiences, and professional I&Es on the project from initiation, design, execution, monitoring, and project closeout, thus ensuring that investment in any infrastructure meets national economic development and environmental sustainability.

He said all hands must be on deck to integrate I&Es as core values in the building construction industry. “Clients should and must employ professionals and provide adequate funds before commencing the construction of new structures. Structural engineers and architects should ensure that all their work follows the right protocols.”

“Government agencies and professional bodies must create awareness of the need to obtain planning permission before project commencement and ensure that capable and qualified professionals are employed to ensure the implementation of building codes and standards.”

He said these measures would go a long way toward effective and efficient building development in the entire country and stressed the need for training and retraining through seminars and workshops.