SUSPENSE Members of the public are eager to know the verdict of the Lagos State government on the collapsed structure
It is no longer news that a six-floor guesthouse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in the Ikotun area of Lagos caved-in penultimate week, with over 70 casualties – most of which were foreigners.
What is news is the plan by Lagos State government to unravel the cause of the collapse and ensure that culprits are brought to book according to the laws of the land. The citizens and stakeholders are watching, knowing-fully- well that the state has the highest number of incidents of building collapse in the country.
Between 2007 and 2013, it has been established by the Abimbola Ajayi-led Tribunal of Inquiry on Collapsed Building that 130 incidents of building collapse occurred in the metropolis, resulting in the loss of many lives and properties worth several billions of naira.
Apart from this, many families have been traumatised while many landlords and developers have lost their hardearned savings in the process. In all of these cases, no person has been held responsible for collapsed structure, making many people to doubt the ability of the state authority to do the needful as regards the recent collapsed structure of Synagogue Church.
Factors liable for building failure
Factors not limited to structural defects, dilapidation, use of poor building materials, lack of maintenance, poor construction, poor quality work, illegal conversion, poor supervision, non-compliance with approved building plans and permits, overloading and use of sub-standard materials have been adduced, among others, to be responsible for some of these structural failures.
Since the collapse of the SCOAN building, many reasons have been adduced for its failure. Although the owner, Prophet Temitope Joshua, had blamed a “misery airplane” for the collapse, many experts in the built environment who had visited the scene have adduced weak foundation, overloading and poor workmanship; while government is yet to ascertain the claim by Joshua but argued that the structure has no building approval.
The implication of this is that the construction of the building is illegal. Just the way it happened during the collapse of a fourstorey building belonging to the Foursquare Gospel Church in Ojodu, Lagos, in 2013, where government, within 48 hours, seized the site, the state authority, according to many views, has been foot-dragging in taking decision in the latest collapsed structure despite its zero tolerance for structural failure.
Government’s explanation
Speaking to New Telegraph at the weekend on the position of government so far, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Toyin Ayinde, a town planner, said that though the structure did not have a building approval but government is still investigating the cause of the collapse.
While expressing his condolences and sympathy with those who lost their loved ones and those that were injured in the unfortunate incident, the commissioner clarified that there are no plans to take over the collapsed structure site until thorough and detailed investigation as to the cause of the collapse has been concluded. He explained that government does not arbitrarily take over properties when investigation is still on going, noting that government is conducting a preliminary investigation into the cause of the collapse and would leave no stone unturned.
He stressed that if there is any violation of relevant planning law, residents are assured that government would take appropriate action. To this end, Ayinde stated that a team of engineers from the ministry and other state government agencies were currently taking samples from the foundation and materials from the wreckage of the building for detailed analysis and testing to ascertain the structural integrity of the building.
He said: “On the veracity of the “strange plane theory,” alleged to have dangerously flown low over the building fifty minutes before the collapse, the ministry had submitted the video clips, as provided by the church, to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) with the coordinate of the collapsed site for investigation and professional comment.”
Experts’ perspective
On the slow pace of government to invoke the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Law 2010, following the collapse of the building, former President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Mr Waheed Kadiri, noted that there are two ways to view the issue. He pointed out that the law did not say that any building that just collapsed.
Kadiri explained: “There could be condition. The building may collapse because of the natural force that is beyond the control of the owner. That is another thing you cannot penalise.” He challenged journalists to do enough investigation about the mystery surrounding the collapsed building, saying: “I also have a story for you journalists. The man told us that there was a plane moving.
What stops journalists from getting to NCAA immediately to know if there was any plane hovering at that time and what airline?” But President of the Building Collapse Prevention Group, Mr Kunle Awobodu, a builder, who claimed to have visited the site at the weekend, said that foundation problem might be responsible for the collapse.
According to him, the main building has revealed that the structure was increased from six to nine floors, adding that the collapsed structure was increased from two to six floors. Awobodu wants to know the agency of government that gave approval for the building, saying that his group was trying to compile its reports and will make it available soon.
CORBON reacts
The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) has urged the National Assembly to urgently pass the bill for the enforcement of the Nigerian National Building Code. Apart from this, the council, through its Chairman, Professor Kabir Bala, is urging all state governments to quickly pass and enforce enabling laws to conform to the minimum requirements of the building code to end incidences of building collapse.
Bala emphasised that the engagement of appropriate registered professionals for the design and construction, who can be sanctioned in case of default and strict enforcement of building control regulations, will take the country out of the woods. He admonished Nigerians to begin to protect themselves by demanding that only the appropriate professionals engage in their development works, saying that Nigerians should not leave their safety to government alone.
He said: “In simple terms, they should ask questions with respect to their building projects development: Is the architectural design done by a registered architect? Is the structural design done by a registered engineer? Are the electrical and mechanical designs done by registered engineers? Is the management of the site execution or the construction process done by a registered builder? These questions remain relevant even when Nigerians are contemplating new building developments. “Our heart goes out in grief to all that have been affected by this incident. These are our immediate reactions. It is hoped that investigation in the days ahead will answer some questions.”
Worried by the spate of building collapse in Lagos State, Governor Babatunde Fashola, had in 2013, constituted a Tribunal of Inquiry on Collapsed Building, chaired by the immediate past Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Architects, Mrs Abimbola Ajayi, to look into the issue and ways out. The six-member tribunal, in its findings, identified weak implementation, as well as deliberate flouting of regulations and gross corruption across board as factors hindering the effectiveness of construction and building laws.
Presenting the report, Mrs Ajayi said that 130 reported cases of building collapse between 2007 and 2013 were reviewed while ten sites were selected and visited. She said that the tribunal found the provisions of the laws
regulating the building industry to be adequate, but were rendered ineffective by non-adherence and indiscipline, among others.
The panel recommended short, medium and long term solutions which it believed will be beneficial in checking incessant building collapse. Noting that no professional has been indicted so far in all the investigated cases, Mrs Ajayi pointed out that the activities of quacks and developers were responsible for the high rate of collapsed buildings.

http://newtelegraphonline.com/synagogue-building-collapse-waiting-game-persists/