Abuja, July 31 (Viewpoint Housing News) — Vice Chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Edo state, Comrade Haruna Abubakar at the 2023 Africa International Housing Show that came to a climax last Thursday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, said the major causes of building collapse can be attributed to low quality materials and poor supervision of construction works.
Abubakar, also the Chairman of Benin-City based Tough Engineering and Properties, revealed that one way of ensuring an end to building collpase that is becoming a frequent happening, lies at the responsibility of the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). “They should stand up to the challenge, they are not fully doing their jobs”, he said.
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“The quality of materials we are getting today are below the standards of what they should be. Look at the gauge of rod, what they (sellers) told you is not what it is at the end. The quality of materials used are not to the required standards”.
He said this is one of the reasons building materials may not be able to stand to the strength of constructed buildings.
He faulted some “unqualified professionls” handling buildings, “some are qualified theorectically but, practically, they are not”, he said.
“When you see an enginner or a site foreman putting pillars in the wrong position, those are potential dangers, he added.
He threw a shot at town planners whom he said also have a role to play in averting building collapse.
“When you go and site a building in an area that is prone to erosion, that is already a potential danger, it’s a collapse in waiting. So the town planners should ensure that buildings are sited in the right places”, Comrade Abubakar concluded.
