‘Geologists vital to preventing building collapse, bad roads’

A Professor of Environmental and Engineering Geology at the University of Ibadan (UI), Ibrahim Oyediran, has stated that engineering geologists are vital to preventing building collapse and mitigating environmental impact in construction activities in the country.

Oyediran stated this while delivering a valedictory lecture in honour of Prof Gabriel Adeyemi, who retired from the service of the University of Ibadan after clocking 70 years.

Oyediran, who spoke on the topic, “Engineering Geology and the Sustainability of Structures and the Environment: The Edunabon Manuscripts” noted that Nigerian roads keep failing and buildings continue to collapse because the country refuses to consider the environment in the placement of structures.

“Our roads keep failing, buildings keep coming down, and we refuse to consider the environment in the emplacement of structures. We design beautiful structures without recourse to material suitability, bearing capacity, environmental impact, and sustainability.

“We have no value for human life and place more premium on quantity rather than quality. How do we walk and move forward when we have refused to crawl and take care of the basics.”

According to him, by ensuring that geological conditions and processes are fully considered, engineering geology helps to create structures that are safe, durable, resource-efficient, and environmentally responsible and will contribute to the well-being, and progress of society and a sustainable built environment.

He lamented that “Nigeria as a country has got to a stage where we cannot continue to pay lip service to the vital role played by engineering geologists albeit geologists in the delivery of sustainable structures.”

Oyediran noted that engineering geologists are crucial at every stage of infrastructure development as they offer a unique perspective to building resilience to natural hazards, solving environmental problems caused by human activities, and lowering the cost and risk of building, as well as infrastructure construction.

“This proactive approach not only saves lives but also reduces economic losses by preventing infrastructure failures.

Once infrastructure is built, engineering geologists play a role in ongoing maintenance and monitoring. This is to ensure long-term stability, performance, and safety of structures through continuous monitoring and maintenance of infrastructure.

”This is done by implementing geotechnical monitoring systems to track ground movement, regular geological assessments and inspections, structural health monitoring technologies, and inspecting structural integrity.

“This continuous monitoring and timely interventions can prevent minor problems from becoming major failures as early detection and mitigation of potential issues, allows for timely interventions and repairs that extend the lifespan of structures and reduce the need for extensive overhauls.

”The whole idea is to ensure stability and integrity of structures by analysing soil and rock properties to determine appropriate foundation types and depths resulting in foundations being designed to support structures under various load conditions and environmental factors,” Oyediran said.