To tame building collapses in choice locations within Lagos and other cities, one-time president of Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Kunle Adebajo, has charged professionals and other stakeholders to review practices that encourage failures. He made the appeal at the weekend during the 2023 fellowship conferment of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE) in Lagos.

Adebajo explained that practitioners need to raise their game to examine the role that engineers should play in reporting or preventing untoward incidents. Adebajo said: “Collapses and failures happen all the time, but it is the dramatic ones that catch the attention. So, we can say, such is life.

“Of course, we know that most collapses have resulted from inadequate enforcement by government agencies and the very unfortunate foray of unqualified personnel into construction and other engineering activities.”

Adebajo, who doubles as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Ove Arup & Partners Nigeria, advised: “Practitioners must learn from those, who have spent years in construction. Don’t design anything before you understand how to do it or competent in. Ask for supervision or assistance. Don’t sign anything you haven’t read or understood. Be inquisitive. Follow your engineering intuition. Be wary of clients, who don’t want to pay for the required level of design or supervision, and be hungry for new ideas and seek to expand your knowledge.”

National Chairman of NIMechE, Mrs. Funmilade Akingbagbohun, lamented that building collapses have become a recurring decimal in the country, with attendant losses of lives and resources.

“We hold it to ourselves as professionals to join hands towards arresting this menace. We must look inwards, interrogate what is wrong and fix it. Mechanical engineers are also involved in construction activities. From piping to pipeline, lift and elevators, air conditioning and refrigeration among others, our works can contribute in the structural element of the building.

Therefore, it is expedient for us to join hands with our colleagues to arrest this ugly development.”

The engineering community must close ranks across divisions to address this menace,” she appealed. Akingbagbohun challenged the 16 new fellows to abide by ethics of the profession and provide the needed leadership to inspire others in encouraging innovation and ingenuity within the profession.

She added: “You have achieved great in your career and reached the pinnacle. But we want more. Your experiences are the most valuable asset we need at this moment of our national journey.”

The administrator said NIMechE was building an academy to train members and upgrade their skills. Chairman, Board of Fellows, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ashiru, implored the new fellows to adopt a life-long learning mindset geared at continually growing technical expertise, and staying atop technologically and information-wise.