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Experts Offer Solutions At 1 Day Seminar
On Wednesday, 14 June, 2023, City People, in collaboration with, The Building Collapse Prevention Guild, BCPG (Lagos Chapter), hosted a 1 Day Seminar, with the Theme: “How To Stop Building Collapse In Lagos. It was held at City People Events Hall, Gbagada, Lagos.
The event started at about 11am with a Welcome address by Seye Kehinde, the Publisher of City People Magazine, who also was the anchor of the event. This was followed by the National Anthem and special quest were invited to the high table.
The hall was filled with members of the BCPG and Staff of City People, a magazine with a bias for Real Estate. QS Soji Adeniji, the Co-ordinator of the BCPG Kosofe Cell gave the Opening Address. He thanked City People, the organisers of the event. He prayed that Almighty Lord will lift the company up, above all expectations City People, he went on to say that he wished this kind of seminar would be conducted every week so that many would learn and know when to do the right thing and not go against the law of the state.
This was followed by the speech from the Lagos State Chairman of BCPG, TPL Joseph Akande, who said that with the data at its disposal regarding the constant building collapse, he believes that when professionals come together and brainstorm, forms of solutions would surface.
“Do we have enough housing in the country as of now? Do we have enough in Lagos? We have a population of about 200 million and spaces is limited for the building of housing, or should I say many boycotts doing the right thing,” he said.
After all these preliminary remarks, the seminar proper began with the panel of discussants consisting of Architect Bola Arilesere the Publicity Secretary BCPG (Lagos State Chapter) said that those constructing buildings should go for professionals and not labourers or people that will say ‘My father built this house and that house’. “They said part of the problem is that they go for technicians, who are not even qualified.
“We should always have the need to count all the costs, which include the cost of engaging professionals, count the cost of statutory requirements of building laws. We should not be tempted cut corners, because it’s actually going to cost double of what you should ha paid, it’s important that people comply with statutory regulations and count the cost of maintaining the facilities in and around the building,” he said.
On his part, Buldr. Mubarak Gbaja-Biamila, the Gen. Secretary BCPG (Lagos State Chapter), said that he is thanking the management and staff of City People Magazine for the platform given to them to speak to the people. “In this profession, the builder is responsible to bring to life the opinions, the dreams, the efforts, starting from the client who has come to have a conceptual or a pure of what he needs, he’s the one responsible to bring life all these three.
A builder is not a bricklayer, he should be a professional that has gone to school to study building and all it requires to build a solid building that won’t collapse. That person must have passed the exam and got trained properly as well as having his name in the register of the council. That means when you say you’re a builder, it means you belong to a professional body, the Nigerian Institute of Building, established in 1967, not just quack calling themselves builder, so people should ensure they get themselves a professional. This will help in the prevention of collapse in our society, “he said.
Engr. Victor Akpan, ESV Allen Oseghale (ANIVS) the Research & Development Secretary of BCPG (Lagos Chapter), gave an insight on the steps to take in building in Lagos. “There is the need to create awareness on what to do or what is expected from people who want to build in Lagos. Those with building projects need to do adequate budgeting, periodically.
“There is a need for an appraisal of the Building records. We need standard specifications, and we need to take into consideration our peculiarities and user requirements. It is important that we use standard qualities in the building because it would curb the menace of building collapse in society,” he said.
He stressed that it’s important to use the right equipment in the building, and urged the regulatory bodies to begin to cross-check what was built and compare it with what was approved.
QS Mrs. Faith Ezeugoh, the Treasurer (Lagos State Chapter). In her contribution, Ezeugoh said that in construction, one has to think and calculate his or her cost first before embarking on the project. “There is the need to count the cost, we must count the cost of Land, Logistics, Diesel to be used, and equipment, we must also engage professionals. Don’t compromise on standards,” she said.
According to her, the media is not helping in fighting this course because they usually report the negative things and fail to report the prevention.
“The media should not wait for buildings to collapse before reporting it, they should look out for a possible building collapse structure and draw attention to it. We ask you to help us and the authorities to avoid these accidents before it occurs,” she said.
On her part, QS Mrs. Adenike Ayanda, National General Secretary, stated the problems of how Clients contribute to Building Collapse by opting to buy the materials by themselves in the hope of cutting costs and expecting construction people to use them to build. She said that some clients prefer direct labour. “The role of Clients is key. Most times they supply defective and low standards of materials, which has also dropped in recent times.
“Clients interfere at the construction site, and they pay too much emphasis on cost. They always want to bring down the cost. It is important that clients understand that a change of mentality is needed in cutting cost for a certified build to be guaranteed,” she said.
QS Ayanda urged clients to let their buildings be built right. “They should take the correct steps, it may be expensive but it is the proper thing to do”, she advised
The National President, TPL Sulaiman Yusuf, said that Building Collapse is a national embarrassment. “We set up BCPG to see how far they can go in getting people to change their ways positively. We need to ensure that all those who have building projects must have development permits and they must obey all building regulations. They must abide by the Laws and regulations. They should consult Surveyors,” he stressed.
This followed up with the guests asking questions and contributing to the discussion on How to prevent Building Collapse in Lagos.
The event concluded around 3pm with the Secretary of BCPG Kosofe Cell, Engr. Abdulfatai Balogun giving the Vote of Thanks in which he thank the organisers, guests, and professionals that attended the event to be on alert because this is only the beginning of many seminars to come.
–Benprince Ezeh
