Members of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) Yaba Cell, have commended the deconstruction of distressed classroom buildings in Yaba.
 
The group noted that the distressed building had long constituted a threat to the safety of pupils and staff of Mainland Senior High School, Onayade Street, Fadeyi, in Yaba Local Council Development Area, Lagos.
  
Coordinator of BCPG, Yaba Cell, Bayo Ogunrinde, and the General Secretary, Funmilayo Olaitan, in a statement, noted that when a clarion call meets a receptive ear, it encourages dedication to a selfless service of whistleblowing aimed at ridding the built environment of sharp practices that are detrimental to safety.
  
“This three-storey school building was tested and marked as distressed on April 4, 2019, but was left unattended, placing the community on tenterhooks for about seven years. 
  
“We were very apprehensive that the unfortunate history of Ohen School might be repeated in our community,” they stated.
  
According to a report from BCPG, Lagos Island Cell, the five-storey building occupied by Ohen Nursery and Primary School at 63, Massey Street, Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island, having failed structural tests, was marked distressed on October 15, 2015. The building was left unattended until it collapsed on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, killing about 20 pupils and injuring many occupants.
  
“Indecision became the unnecessary risk that persisted for four years. This unpleasant experience became a lesson for every reasonable and proactive person to learn from. 
  
“On Thursday, December 4, 2025, based on the concern of the traditional ruler of the community where Mainland Senior High School is located, Onisabe of Igbobi-Sabe, HRM Oba Owolabi Adeyemi Adeniyi, and the invitation of BCPG Yaba Cell, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) conducted a visual inspection of the distressed school building at Yaba,” the guild added.
 
On January 30, 2026, BCPG Yaba Cell wrote a letter to the Lagos State Commissioner for Education on the need to take proactive measures to avert a predictable calamitous building collapse in the school at Yaba.

The attention of the Chairman, Yaba LCDA, Hon. Bayo Adefuye was also drawn to this potential danger that could disrupt the peaceful academic atmosphere of the school.
  
In response to the letter, the Chairman of the Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools in Lagos State, Hakeem Smith, a quantity surveyor, directed fresh non-destructive structural tests on the school’s three units of three-storey classroom buildings. The results were enervating. Only one out of the three buildings was suitable for habitation. An aesthetically pleasing and imposing classroom building with hidden defects had been added to the defective one discovered in 2019.
  
“Periodic non-destructive structural integrity tests on school buildings should become a necessity. The cost to rebuild each of these classroom buildings, measuring 58.51m in length by 9.05m in width, is approximately N940 million. This huge loss might tempt a decision-maker to consider renovation by retrofitting. But how many parents would feel comfortable having their children study under such a reworked building?
  
“Moreover, the last time a building collapsed at Yaba was on Friday,  September 12, 2025.

It was a five-storey building on 335 Borno Way, Alagomeji, Yaba, resulting in five deaths. It was alleged that the building collapsed while undergoing a retrofitting exercise.

Considering the recent narrow escape of pupils and staff of Yemco Schools at Ogba, Ojodu, Lagos, from building collapse (on Monday, March 9 2026), the urgency of taking the right decision regarding the Mainland Senior High School distressed buildings became imperative,” the chairman stated.
  
Earlier, on Thursday, February 5, 2026, the Chairman of BCPG Lagos State Chapter, Joseph Akande, accompanied by BCPG Yaba Cell leaders, held a meeting with the General Manager of LASBCA, Mrs Florence Gbaye, at LASBCA Headquarters, Ikeja, regarding the distressed school buildings. 
  
“We commend Governor  Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for placing safety above economic considerations by approving LASBCA’s recommendation for the demolition of the distressed school buildings.
  
“At this juncture, a pertinent question readily arises: Who constructed these defective school buildings at Yaba? The onus is now on LASBCA and other relevant government agencies to ensure that public funds are not wasted on the construction of buildings that might not stand the test of time,” the guild added.