By Kayode Emola
The rate at which buildings collapse in Nigeria is very alarming, especially in Lagos. Oftentimes this is blamed on less-quality building materials. This affects both the ghettos and the affluent areas and in recent months, it seems to be affecting more affluent areas. This could make one think whether it is the owners trying to cut corners by using substandard building materials.
In the last year alone, there have been around 20 building collapses in Lagos State, representing 48.7 percent of the entire cases in Nigeria according to Sahara Reporters news of December 27, 2022. The memory of Gerrard Road in Ikoyi which occurred on 1 November 2021 is still very fresh in our minds. Especially because the owner Femi Osibona of Fourscore Homes Limited was in the building when it collapsed and died in it.
I do not believe anyone will set out to construct a building with the intent of having it collapse within a few years after construction or even while construction is still going on. However, when this becomes a regular occurrence, it is either the regulatory bodies are not on top of their job or the builders are questionable.
The recent collapse of a seven-story building this Wednesday 12 April at First Avenue in Banana Island, one of the most affluent areas of Lagos state calls to question what the authorities are doing with regard to building regulations. Although nobody was declared dead when the incident occurred, the possibility of finding dead bodies as days go by and more rubble is pulled out cannot be ruled out.
The statement by the head of LASEMA (Lagos State Emergency Management Agency) that the collapse occurred as a result of a truck driving into the building may not be accurate. This is because eye witness account has it that the building was visibly shaking and suddenly fell down. Even if it was a truck that hit the building, the way and manner in which it all collapsed from the video circulating on social media show that it has no good structure in place to withstand such an impact.
Moreso, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Tayo Bamgbose-Martins stated that the construction was unapproved by the State Government. If that is the case, there needs to be a re-examining of how houses are been built in Yorubaland especially Lagos.
With the rate of building collapse, there needs to be a Building standard that every builder and owner needs to adhere to. Otherwise, many more of these ugly occurrences will still happen and innocent people will die needlessly due to no fault of their own.
Whilst the Lagos State Governor has temporarily halted the construction of every building in the area, I believe our building and civil engineers need to come up with building standards both for road and house construction. They must ensure that this meets international standard such that every building will have both a commission and a decommissioned date, and the same applies to the construction of roads. There is a need to set up a professional body to oversee the conduct of builders and to ensure any structure being put in place is signed off on before it is put to use by the public.
Many of our roads do not even last the duration of the construction as they are either washed away by heavy rains or in some cases by merely applying pressure with the fist. All these are happening because we live in a country that accepts substandard as a way of life. We have been brainwashed to believe that inferiority can also do the job, not minding the fact that it could cost us our lives.
I urge our people to understand that when we are advocating for an independent Yoruba nation, it is because occurrences like this will be thoroughly dealt with so that it does not happen again. If adequate measures had been put in place when the incident of Gerrard Street happened in 2021, then this unfortunate incident in Banana Island and all the further 20 collapsed buildings should have been avoidable.
I want our people to know that even if a Yoruba becomes the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in May 2023, it does not mean that the fortunes of Nigeria or Yorubaland will change overnight. Until we have our own autonomous nation where we can make our own laws and enforce them, that is the only thing that can guarantee our success in every aspect of human development not just housing and road construction.
Whilst a Yoruba man going to be the President of Nigeria may be a temporary cushion to the Yoruba people, we should not lose focus that our ultimate goal is an independent Yoruba nation. Our advocacy must mean that we continue to educate our people with the information they need to demand the autonomy of our land which will give us the ultimate freedom to decide how we govern ourselves.
