By Henry Umahi
Show me a lucky man and I will show you Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State. In December 2016, he was worshipping in a church in Uyo, the state capital, when the building collapsed, killing more than 50 people.
The governor was among top government officials and other dignitaries at the Reigners Bible Church when the tragedy occurred, leaving hundreds of worshippers trapped inside the church.
It was a special Saturday programme organised to mark the ordination of the founder of the church, Akan Weeks, as Bishop. Many of the worshippers, including the commissioner for information, Mr Charles Udoh, and the chief press secretary to the governor, Mr Ekerette Udoh, were injured and taken to hospital.
Tears had flowed freely two years earlier, on September 12, 2014, when a guest house located within the premises of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) in Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State crumbled in a cloud of dust. About 115 lives were lost in the tragedy, 89 of them foreigners on spiritual tourism. The church branded the victims, “martyrs of faith.”
The church said a jet hovered over the church before the building collapsed. In a documentary by Emmanuel TV, the founder and general overseer of SCOAN, late Prophet T.B Joshua, said: “I was on the mountain in the morning. I received a phone call immediately when I got here. There was a jet moving around that spot. It was mentioned to me over the telephone. I told them I was in the church. Before I knew it there was a jet here at the same church.”
But it’s not only church buildings that are collapsing, claiming lives in Nigeria. On March 8, 2016, a five-storey building under construction at Lekki Gardens Horizon 1, in the Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos collapsed, killing no fewer than 34 persons and injuring several others.
A woman, her six-month-old baby and her husband working at the site were among the dead. The woman went to the site to collect money from her husband when the building collapsed.
Another harvest of deaths was recorded on November 1, 2021, when a 21-storey building of luxury flats under construction in the highbrow Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, collapsed. At least 45 people died, including the developer, Femi Osibona. The building known as ‘360 Degrees’ was owned by Fourscore Height.
It was alleged that the developer of the building flouted building permits. A letter issued to Fourscore Height Limited on April 5, 2019, with registration number IV/2019/DO/033/67 and permit number DCB/DO/2442IV on April 9, 2019, stated that the structure was originally approved for 15 floors. It, however, collapsed when it got to 21.
Interestingly, the original contractor handling the project, Prowess Engineering Limited, in a letter dated February 20, 2020, told Fourscore Homes Limited that it was withdrawing its services on the building, which later collapsed.
Prowess said: “We arrived at this decision due to the fact that we no longer share the same vision with you as our client in terms of how the project is being executed.”
Indeed, building collapse has become rampant across the country. In the last couple of weeks, Lagos, Kano, Akwa Ibom and Abuja recorded building collapse. However, Lagos is the undisputed leader in such incidents in the country.
Few weeks ago, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) disclosed that at least 30 buildings collapsed in the state between January and July 2022.
It was gathered that about 92 deaths were recorded in the last two years in Lagos due to building collapse while about 1200 people met their end in similar circumstances in the country in last four decades. Thousands of people have sustained various forms of injuries from such.
According to the President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Kunle Awobodu, Nigeria recorded 461 building collapse incidents between October 1974 and July 2021.
Why are buildings collapsing in Nigeria? Real estate mogul, Dr Alex Obiechina, blamed the embarrassing rampancy on poor structural design, poor compliance with specifications/altering of design, poor quality control, improper foundation, negligence, incompetence and corruption.
Obiechina, who is an architect, said: “Buildings collapse most times is because of incompetence of the contractor or malicious acts on the part of the contractor whereby concrete is not properly mixed to required specifications. If the right proportion is not followed, the building is bound to collapse.
“Another thing that causes building collapse is the size of rod used. If you use it wrongly, it could lead to that. In other words, the use of materials can lead to the collapse of a building. Another factor is faulty design. If the structural engineer did not calculate well and then gives a design where the structural element you are putting cannot carry the building, it will collapse.
“Apart from improper supervising by the engineer or architect, another thing that can lead to building collapse is an act of God such as abnormal wind and earth tremor. These are above us; they are within the realm of God. But the general ones we can address are incompetent workmanship, poor building materials, poor engineering design system or reluctance on the part of the contractor to do exactly what the structural engineer has put in drawing.
“Also, the owner of the building influencing the use of poor quality materials for the construction of the house can lead to the collapse of the building. You must also bear in mind that the soil texture is also important. Even when you have done other things well, poor soil analysis can lead to building collapse.
“So, in a nutshell, the people to blame if this happens are the structural engineer, the owner of the building, the architect, if he is not supervising well, as well as the town planners who are supposed to have supervised and seen the loopholes and put them in correct shape before allowing the buildings to be constructed. So, it is a combination of factors and I think it’s important that all of us in the building industry sit up to avoid buildings collapsing. It’s embarrassing to see buildings collapsing and claiming lives.”
The Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Architects, Lagos State chapter, David Majekodunmi, said: “If there is really good monitoring and enforcement in place, then we will not have such situation as we have now. Also, what is the insurance of those that are going out for monitoring and enforcement in other for them to do their job well?
“What makes a building to collapse? It is either incompetence of consultants or whether the consultants are trying to cut corners. When a site is sealed, the moment it’s opened, get the person arrested and let them pay for demolition.”
For the Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Institute of Building, Godfrey Godfrey, “the approvals that have been issued, particularly for multiple storey buildings, need some kind of vetting for an experienced hand to look at the structural designs.”