Lately , agos has witnessed frequent building collapse both on the Island and Mainland. There are different reasons for building collapse. We can tell you some. They range from
- Lack of Professional Supervision. ii. Substandard Materials. iii. Structural Depreciation. iv. Government Bureaucracy.
Lets look at each one: i. LACK OF PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISION: The architect is the head of the building industry. For your building not to collapse an architect must be involved :from the planning stage to the finishing stage because the architect knows the quality of cement to be used, strength of concrete, walls, electrical, the right specification of rods to be used, the best roofing material is affordable, the best finishing materials you can afford e.t.c. so you need an architect from plan A to the finishing, so that your building does not collapse.
- SUBSTANDARD MATERIALS: When you are supposed to use nine inches block, and you use four inches, your building will collapse, when you are supposed to use twelve mm [12mm] and you use a cheaper one, you will run into problem. In mixing of your concrete, if you use too much sand, you will run into problem. Everything in architecture has its own rate in terms of concrete mixing.
iii. STRUCTURAL DEPRECIATION: When your building is 44 years old, you need a massivere novation because the structures are old just like the human organ when a man is 50 years old your organ become weak and old, same applys to buildings, but Landlord of Lagos will not renovate building even after 70 years. There is a building that is 80 years old if you see it, it will look like it was build yesterday. When a structure is falling, you address it immediately, your building will not collapse, but here in Nigeria they leave in their building unattended to and when the building collapses, it is not just one person who dies, but in the hospital when an operation fails it only one person. In a building many die that is why it is important that the government look into building collapse because it is claiming many lives not only in Lagos but nationwide.
- GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY: In Lagos before you embark on any building project, you must obtain a titled document and a C of O. To obtain them could this take more than a year. You will now do the design and approval. Some people will just go into building not minding the law and the need for C of O, drawing and approval and all the necessary design analysis because they are in a hurry to build and move in so they make errors and the government laws are not helping issues, so the government should reduces all these things so that a proper building analysis could take place to avoid a collapses.
