Rauf Oyewole, Bauchi

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Prof. Samson Duna, has attributed the failure to prosecute and punish offenders who contributed to building collapses and loss of lives as a significant factor for incessant building collapses in the country.

Duna spoke in Bauchi on Friday when he presented a paper titled “Building Collapse in Nigeria: A Preventable Human Infliction” at a public lecture organised by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi.

He said that after several investigations into building collapse incidents in Nigeria, no defaulter has ever been prosecuted and punished for violating building codes and approvals.

Duna urged the government to establish a rapid response team in every state to cater to victims of building collapses.

He said,“A strong law should be enacted by the National Assembly to punish those who violate the building code, which will serve as a deterrent to others.

“We are agitating that each state government should establish a response team. Buy facility excavators, keep them, and train people just as if you are going to war. So that anytime a building collapse occurs, you are there as a rapid response team and not when a building collapses and you start begging people to bring equipment.

“No equipment for excavation and we know that these buildings will continue to fail. We are not praying for anything like that to happen in Bauchi State, but if it does, do we have an excavator nearby?

“Do you have people trained to do something nearby, and that’s why I’m calling authorities like the state governments to establish a Rapid Response Team to cater to unforeseen circumstances like building collapses.

“We are calling on the National Assembly to enact a law so that anybody that is found wanting as far as carelessness is concerned, man-made error somewhere, the person should be punished, face the music, and this will serve as a deterrent to others.”

NBRRI advocated that Structural Integrity Assessments be carried out for all existing structures built over a period of 15 years, with emphasis on areas or locations that have experienced bomb blasts.

He urged the stakeholders in the construction industry to adhere strictly to the provisions of the building code. Construction of buildings must be carried out in accordance with design specifications.

Construction of large-scale buildings should be awarded to competent and registered contractors.

Regulatory professional bodies should regularly organise workshops for stakeholders in the building industry to update their knowledge. Public enlightenment and sensitisation campaigns should be carried out regularly.