A past President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE), Dr Victor Oyenuga, has canvassed strict supervision and enhanced quality control in the housing industry as potential measures to tackle the menace of building collapse in the country.

He stressed that achieving safe building design depends on engaging qualified professionals, conducting soil tests, using quality materials, applying proper construction techniques, and ensuring strict supervision throughout the project lifecycle.

Oyenuga made the recommendation during an online forum entitled: “Structural failures reasons, remedies and recommendations,’ organised by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) Amuwo Cell, in Lagos.

He listed major reasons for building collapse in urban centres to include poor design of work, poor materials, poor workmanship, poor or lack of supervision, poor quality control of materials before, during and after construction, as well as lack of design concept and construction processes.

He emphasised that most of the recently collapsed buildings in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and others are modest structures, which are typically four-storey buildings that should not challenge experienced engineers, noting that due to widespread negligence and greed, failures persist.

The structural engineer, who referenced the founding of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) in 2011, as an initiative that brought together professionals from architecture, engineering, building, and planning disciplines to stem the tide of collapses, added that the Guild had expanded across the country and now plays a key role in raising awareness and pushing for reforms.

Oyenuga, however, outlined the key factors for structural stability to include proper design, sound material selection, accurate load calculations, and ongoing maintenance.

He further said that common failure modes, such as punching shear, bearing failure and poor detailing, stem from substandard practices and neglect during construction.
According to him, making soil investigations mandatory, prohibiting unauthorised change of use in buildings without proper structural reassessment and avoiding over-reliance on software without engineering judgment are crucial for safety.