Experts urge FG to engage professionals to end building collapse

Building experts under the aegis of the American Society of Civil Engineers have called on the Federal Government to employ the services of trained professionals to end building collapse in Nigeria.

Members of the group made the call on the sidelines of the society’s third quarterly meeting, which held in Lagos.

A fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Ajose Otinwa, said faulty foundation was part of the reasons for building collapse.

Otinwa said, “The reason for building collapse is the foundation. When the foundation is adequate, strong in terms of design and construction, there will be safety. To curb building collapse is also to be concerned about the foundation.

“We have to discourage quackery, avert shoddy work and make sure that there is orderliness in the built industry. When this is done, failure or collapse will be once in a blue moon.”

Another expert and fellow of ASCE, Dr Emmanuel Adeyemo, blamed untrained professionals for building collapse.

Adeyemo said, “We can improve on the built environment in Nigeria when clients and government also ensure that the right people trained to do the job are allowed to do it and not quacks.  The quacks are the cause of collapse and we have to get to the root of it.

“Until we begin to follow due process, right from the owner of the building to the contractor to the government, we may not have an end to this. So, let us obey the rules.”

Adeyemo charged both governments and contractors to do the right thing by engaging qualified engineers, stressing that without qualified engineers no structure should be put in place in the country.