Olusegun Ariyo
One of the major challenges confronting Nigeria in its plight to sustainable development is the problem of having access to building material in large quantities, In good quality, and at affordable price.
The scenario has resulted into two major problems, which is the growing incidence of building collapse, which many lives and properties have been wasted coupled with building maintenance problem. this has become issue of many forums the rapid growing cases of building collapse in the country in associated with the use of low quantity and inadequate building material. Over the years particularly since 1980, s Nigeria has been witnessing sporadic cases of building collapse the major concern of this public incident is the center where the need to provide accommodation is becoming urgent. Incidence of building collapse, not only accompany by waste of recourses but loss of lives and environmental destruction also, the country suffers a shortage of affordable housing for both industrial and domestic uses.
To this end, the rate at which housing provision is been address is at very low level compared with the increasing rate of housing demand occasioned by high degree of urbanization the building infrastructure of nowadays have not been able to serve their purpose adequately apart from high degree of building collapse this situation is not peculiar to individual persons building but include public building of giant size this outcry is because rapid depreciation and weary of some of buildings the reason for this is because some of this building structure are of low quantity in terms of construction and they are poorly maintain it is in this regard, report on the challenges of Nigeria building code indicate that the incidence of building collapse in the country has become issue of public attention as far back as 1970, furthering that the case has become major occurrence in urban center, particularly in Lagos, Ibadan, port-Harcourt and Kaduna.
It indicates that in Lagos metropolis alone, between 1983 and 2007 there are 1001 reported cases of building collapse an d the increasing rate is 99.01% while the incident is almost every year occurrence. This is anchored by the destruction of properties loss of lives and environmental hazards. Report also indicates that between 1976 and 2003 which is 27 years, there was 40 reported cases of building collapse in the country where 376 lives were lost. It was only in one case of building collapse that there was no lost of live it indicate that the most affected areas are most urbanized.
Another related development, findings review that the major causes of building collapse are lack of structure design details, poor workmanship, use of substandard material wrong conversion of building absence of approved plan lack of qualified and appropriate professional in construction and supervision, lack of workable legal instrument and none compliance with approved plan and inadequate maintenance.
on the other hand, building collapse according to the repot usually leads to economic loss to the owner and the occupant in addition to wasting of time and energy for instance, report indicates that between 1983 and 2007 about 164 persons loss their lives in the incidence of building collapse as a result of blocking of drainage which leads to weakness of building foundation and block of access roads on the part of regulating material policies, Nigeria since independence did not have the policy trust to control construction of building from design to completion state until the enactment of national building code (NBC) in 2006.
Although, there have been some laws on physical development since colonial era, but this law is limited to building plan approval and ensuring that the size and scale of such a building structure is in accordance with plan approval. National building code is very comprehensive about building instructions process than any other law.
Regrettably, since the introduction of the code the number of assessment have been made on it adequacy to address this major problem confronting the sustainable building construction in the country are in doubt it is against this premise some group of expert report that the challenging of building collapse with the aim of vision 2020 toward infrastructure provision and sustainable development that is free from unwarranted hazards can never be over emphasized it indicate that the role of professional should be in the policy law especially in the building construction and maintenance also, the professional ethics should be promoted with legal provision which would entrench discipline among the professional of built environment example he who plays the piper should dictate the tune.
it explains that supplementary laws on building maintenance and the provision of the establishment of material test laboratory that every town planning area be given a priority in addition to enforcement of material testing result since the existing national pole policy trust only make provision for application to rehabilitate and maintain buildings
