By Maduka Nweke,
[email protected] 08034207864
recent incidence of building collapse, mostly in Lagos, have drawn out landlords in the state to think in the direction of insurance to cushion the losses they could suffer in the event of building collapse.
Although Nigerians have a strong apathy towards insurance, many still want to maintain their social status no matter what happens. This is why landlords do not see insuring buildings as a worthwhile venture. For an average landlord, the last thing that would come to mind is to have buildings insured against any unforeseen circumstance. An average landlord sees premium for insurance cover as a waste of money because they would prefer to invest such money in another property that would generate more income for them, thereby postponing the doomsday.
A property owner who lost assets following the collapse of his property, told Daily Sun on condition of anonymity: “Do you know how much I have committed into this construction that has gone down the drain? If I tell you, you may not believe me because you will imagine how one can lose such amount of money in one day. But that is not just the most painful side. The painful side is that government is even blaming us for the catastrophe as if one wanted to pour his salt into the river. These people visited us from time to time and we kept ‘oiling their palms’. But now that it has happened, they will wear the garb of righteousness and blame us to save themselves and sacrifice us. Now that we have experienced these incidents, everybody will be looking for remedy and something to fall back to in the case of future occurrence,” he said.
Another developer, Mr. Okechukwu Obodoeze, said it is good that something like this will happen to force members of the public to start looking in the direction of insurance not only for building but also for other properties and businesses.
“It is not until something happens that people learn their lessons. Some people learn when others incur losses, others learn when they lose while very insignificant few learn when the announcement is made. Those who learn when the announcement is made take urgent precautions against unforeseen occurrences. When I first insured my two-storey building, my friends were calling me Mr. too know. But when the building was demolished due to road construction and I was paid even more than I spent when it was built, they started saying ‘had I known’,” he said.
It was in order to forestall all these that the Lagos State government introduced mandatory insurance for all existing and new buildings in line with the provisions of the Insurance Act 2003. While speaking on the issue, the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC) Director General, Mr. Hakeem Dickson, said henceforth, it is mandatory for house owners and new ones under construction to insure their property as stipulated by law.
Dickson, during the “Naija Safe Awards 2017”, said in the event of disaster, victims would be able to access compensation from the insurance companies instead of having to wait on government every time. He said the state was already talking to a consortium of insurance companies through the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and that the measure, which is proactive, was to bring the state at par with developments around the world.
To ensure success of the exercise, the Director General said the commission has been reorganised and its staff reassigned to ensure innovative approach and better delivery of service to the public. He said the event was meant to recognise as well as encourage outstanding performances and initiatives of organisations, individuals and groups towards promoting and raising safety consciousness among workers and citizens.
The Chief Coordinating Officer, Naija Safe Awards 2017, Mr. Femi Da-Silva, further explained that the award was aimed at promoting health, safety and environment (HSE) best practices in the workplace and generally raise safety consciousness.
Da-Silva said over 170 industry professionals attended the maiden edition of the award in 2015, while nominations were received from 15 states across the nation with 345 nominees from different sectors of the economy.