Yesterday, leadership of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Oyo State Chapter led by the Chairman, Dr. Bolaji Wahab paid an on-the-spot-assessment to the scene of a dastard collapsed building that occurred around 4:00pm on Sunday, 18th April, 2021 along Arulogun Road, Ojoo, Ibadan, in the Oyo State Capital.
The yet-to- be completed single storey framed structure suffered a total collapse that could be attributed to technical deficiencies occasioned by lack of qualified professionals, particularly Builder(s) on the construction site.
Addressing journalists during the inspection exercise, The Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Oyo State Chapter, Dr. Bolaji Wahab described the incident as a huge loss and unfortunate but it is an avoidable occurrence if best practices in construction technology and practices had been deployed.
In his words, the Chairman said, “this incident is one too many and its rather unfortunate”.
“While we at the NIOB, commiserate with the owner of the collapse structure, we call on residents of Oyo State to join hands with us in bringing an end to the menace of building collapse by engaging the services of qualified, tested and trusted professional builders for their construction works through the review of building laws that the body is soliciting for.
He further maintained that preliminary investigations into the remote causes of the ill-fated collapsed building indicated that some technical inputs of professionals were apparently absent. As observed, the site has natural constraints in terms of topography (slopy condition), waterloggedness, uncohesiveness/looseness of the soil with its attendant low bearing capacity upon which the structure was built.
Also, poor workmanship, non-adherence to specifications, lack of monitoring/inspection from any existing governmental units saddled with the control of building works, and the engagement of quacks who are not Professional Builders that have the requisite academic cum professional training as Building Production Experts in line with the provisions in the Country’s Building Code now being domesticated in frameworks used across the nation, to assess and use outputs of the design experts in the building industry, the architectural and structural drawings and specifications prepared by the Professional Architects and Structural Engineers respectively, to produce the buildings for the safe use of mankind at the site would have led to this unfortunate collapse.
He also noted that the Building Code also mandate Builders, to equally prepare Builders’ Documents (Building Production Documents) which comprises Construction Methodology, Construction Program, Project Quality Management Plan and Construction Health and Safety Plan for Building Projects which have to be submitted to the planning authority together with the survey plan and working drawings prepared by the architects and engineers for approval purpose before work can start at the site. He explained that the Builders Documents basically help to achieve quality assurance drive, conformity to specifications and safe construction of the buildings while executing the project to meet time, cost and quality ends, and also prevent the occurrence of the unfortunate collapse.
Dr. Wahab therefore seized this opportunity once again, to call on the Oyo State Government under His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde to kindly and earnestly, look into the Building Development and Control Processes which is a far cry from the provisions in the Building Code, being adopted by sister state governments, and immediately fastrack the creation of the Oyo State Building Control Agency (OYBCA) as obtainable in some neighboring States that have passionately domesticated the core provisions in their building development and control processes so that Professional Builders and other sister professionals would be allowed to duly contribute to the construction of safe and sustainable building stock that would impart on the economy of the state.
The Chairman concluded that the NIOB had, during the 13th March, 2021 Builders’ Day which held across the federation, reiterated the importance of engaging Professional Builders on building construction sites to include prevention of such collapse.
