Seven years after the approval of the National Building Code, the construction standards remain unimplemented, thereby having far-reaching consequences on the construction industry, safety, urban development, and public trust. CHINEDUM UWAEGBULAM reports that real estate developers and insurance firms are growing wary of projects, citing the unpredictable construction standards and lack of regulatory oversight.

The persistent failure to implement Nigeria’s National Building Code (NBC) is taking a heavy toll on the country’s construction industry. Rising cases of building collapse, poor-quality infrastructure, and growing investor scepticism threaten the stability of the property sector.

Despite being approved in 2006 and reviewed in 2018, the NBC remains largely unenforced across most states, leaving a vacuum in the regulation of construction standards. Analysts say this has exposed Nigeria’s urban centres, especially Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt to unsafe buildings, substandard materials, and a proliferation of unqualified developers.

Experts warn that the absence of a uniformly enforced code means there are no binding guidelines for structural integrity, fire safety, energy efficiency, or even basic sanitation requirements in most buildings.

The consequences are visible, from residential homes to commercial buildings, frequent structural failures have resulted in the loss of lives, property damage, and community displacements. In many cases, government responses stop at setting up investigative panels with no long-term enforcement outcomes.

Beyond safety concerns, the code’s non-implementation is also undermining investor confidence. Real estate developers and insurance firms are growing wary of projects in Nigeria, citing the unpredictable construction standards and lack of regulatory oversight.

The situation also poses challenges to climate-resilient urban planning. The NBC includes provisions for sustainable building practices and environmental standards, but these remain largely ignored. This has hindered efforts to attract green finance and scale up eco-friendly housing in Nigeria’s rapidly growing cities.

Equally troubling is how the regulatory gap emboldens quackery, sidelining professionals in architecture, engineering, and urban planning. Many industry practitioners lament the erosion of standards and a race to the bottom in building costs and quality.

Efforts to rectify the situation have stalled. While the Federal Government has called for the adoption of the NBC, its enforcement lies with individual states—many of which have failed to pass the enabling legislation. The calls for a national building regulatory commission with prosecutorial powers have also been ignored.

Nigeria has, by far, the highest reported figures in Africa: 653 collapses and 1,616 deaths (Oct 1974–May 2025), with Lagos alone accounting for 55 per cent of incidents. Kenya (2009–2019): 86 collapsed buildings valued over $21 million, causing roughly 200 deaths. Nairobi saw 21 in 2015, dropping to just 2 in 2019 after reforms. From 1996 to 2019, documented Nigerian tragedies exceeded 200 deaths.

Experts agreed that the way forward is for states to domesticate the code through legislation, provide resources for enforcement, and build capacity in regulatory agencies. There is also a need for a nationwide public awareness campaign to educate citizens on the importance of safe buildings and compliance.

The Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) advised the Federal Government to establish a Building and Engineering Construction Commission. The commission, which will be under the oversight of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, is expected to be saddled with regulating the entire industry.

QSRBN President, Obafemi Onashile, said the lack of cohesion and coordination of the entire construction industry has led to building collapse, the existence of and inadvertent promotion of quackery within the industry, corruption in construction contracts, mostly stemming from uncertainty of contractual payments, lack of attraction of Foreign Direct Investments in construction industry.

Onashile called for stricter control of high-rise buildings, “laws such as a modified version of the current building code but without the design procedural prescriptions as currently included.”

For the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the non-adherence to standards and codes of practice in the construction process has resulted in building collapses, endangering lives, loss of property and damaging public trust in the sector. It noted that while there was nothing wrong with the adaptation of foreign codes and standards in the construction sector, such adaptation needs to address local conditions and peculiarities.

President, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mobolaji Adeniyi told The Guardian that there are many buildings that are not designed by registered architects and engineers, which get approved. “Too many uninformed people are into real estate and cut corners by not using competent and experienced professionals thus undermining the entire safety of the building construction.”

According to her, the most common technical violations include the use of substandard materials, non-adherence to approved building plans, poor workmanship, and lack of professional supervision. “Many sites operate without qualified architects, structural engineers, or builders overseeing construction phases. Inadequate soil testing and foundation design mismatches are also prevalent, particularly in high-risk zones like swampy or reclaimed lands.”

Adeniyi stated that the lack of enforcement of the NBC undermines structural integrity by allowing unsafe practices to persist unchecked. “Without strict adherence to standardised guidelines for materials, design, fire safety, and occupancy, buildings are at greater risk of collapse or functional failure. The code provides a framework for accountability and safety, and ignoring it exposes lives and investments to unnecessary danger.”

She urged states and local governments to establish building control agencies empowered to carry out routine inspections, issue stop-work orders, and prosecute offenders. “Digital monitoring systems can track approved projects, while building stage certifications should be mandatory before moving to the next phase. Engagement of registered professionals for design and supervision should be legally enforced, and a publicly accessible registry of approved projects can help improve transparency and accountability.

“Enforcement of payment of appropriate and approved fees to consultants will ensure quality professional input in the building process. Certificate of fulfilment of financial obligations should be part of documentation for approval to ensure the commitment of the professionals on the projects.”

Adeniyi stressed the need for more experienced architects in all the regulatory agencies at all levels to ensure that approvals given meet architectural standards and specifications. “Delays, bureaucracy, and a lack of clarity on approval processes often hinder smooth interaction. When regulators and architects collaborate from design to delivery, compliance and quality naturally improve.”

A past president of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Dr Victor Oyenuga, told The Guardian that the most common violation in the construction industry is the failure to adhere to safety issues such as wearing personal protective equipment. This includes the wearing of a hard hat, safety boots and welding goggles. “Most Nigerian labourers and artisans see this as unnecessary. Some even go to the extent of selling them when provided.”

According to him, many find it difficult to adhere to the approved or appropriate setback distances. “The government at all levels is also culprits in this area. It is funny when the government hammered on setbacks and standards that were not attained in some of their already built structures.

“A good example is staircase tread and riser dimensions. In a public building, the appropriate values for these are 300 and 150mm. Take a visit to any government secretariat close to you and let me know your experience. This is extremely important because of emergencies.

“There is no consonance between the code and structural stability. No building to my knowledge has been structurally designed in this country, using the NBC. However, the construction procedure and quality control enunciated in the code will assist in ensuring structural stability and integrity if such a structure was properly designed initially.”

Oyenuga explained that a building collapses when the structure (the skeleton) is not strong enough to withstand the intended load on it. “The failure might be due to poor structural design (which to my knowledge is accountable for a good number of cases), poor quality or composition of materials and poor workmanship or quality control. Most collapsed buildings violate these and are covered in the Code to a reasonable extent, except the structural design.”

The first enforcement mechanism is for buildings to be designed by appropriate professionals. “Let the professionals practice in their area of core competencies and follow the quality control of construction to the letter. Money should not be traded for human lives. This is achievable when competent professional builders are involved, especially in large projects. Supervision is key to any construction process.”

The National Public Relations Secretary of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Dr Jesse Nor, said, without a legally binding building code, there will be no national framework in building designs.

“This leads to anarchy in the built environment when you don’t a have a national reference framework or code. The whole system becomes a laissez faire for everyone, which is not good for the country.

“The whole built environment becomes disjointed as there is no framework to guide the public about how to build, the standards to follow, issues of public safety, and health tends to be compromised.”

Nor said, “There has to be political will by the political class, drive by all the professions in the built sector to ensure implementation and enforcement across the diverse regions of the country.”

According to him, weak enforcement leads to the non-implementation of policies and plans – whether master plans, regional plans, structure plans, layout plans, and building plans. “It is enforcement that ensures that are our urban policies and plans are implemented as intended, but without enforcement, our plans no matter how beautiful and enlightened they are, end up being distorted and compromised.

“Fundamentally, enforcement leads to the sustainable development of our cities and towns where varying components that make them functional whether in the area of housing, infrastructure, urban economy, and green development are implemented.”