- Too many died from what was the negligence of a builder
At the last count, the death toll hit 35, which was a tragic testament to what a perceptive observer described as “architectural impunity”. Lagos State witnessed yet another building collapse. This time, a five-storey building under construction crumbled just before dawn on March 8 at Horizon 1, Lekki Gardens in Ikate, during a heavy rainfall. The land was reportedly reclaimed in 2012 while construction work began in 2014.
It is puzzling that the owners of the collapsed building, Lekki Gardens, said in a statement: ”The building which was under construction was meant to house number of apartment units but construction work had been suspended in January 2016 over reported structural defects.”
If building work had been temporarily stopped as claimed by the residential property development company, it is intriguing that several construction workers were at the site when the building collapsed. The presence of people other than security guards at a site where work was supposed to have been suspended reflected an ineffective enforcement of safety standards. This is an unacceptable lapse on the part of the company.
More importantly, the tragedy spoke volumes about the inadequacies of the relevant regulatory agencies. Perhaps much more than the shortcomings of the building company, the state agencies established to oversee construction work in the state demonstrated inexcusable irresponsibility by failing to prevent the disastrous loss of lives. The relevant authorities should have ensured that a building allegedly declared defective by the building firm was not used for shelter purposes by anyone.
Indeed, comments credited to the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Shola Adeigbe, showed to what extent regulatory failure was a contributory factor in this incident. He said: “The materials used for the construction were poor materials. It was a foundation failure because it sank before collapsing. We will subject the entire building to structural stability test.” Isn’t this agency supposed to ensure that buildings are constructed with quality materials? Deservedly, the state government has promptly fired the LASBCA boss.
His excuse is clearly unacceptable. Moreover, it is worth noting that a worker was quoted as saying: “So many people, especially workers, slept here because they could not afford transport fares to their residences. When we started the work, we were paid N3, 000 daily but later it was changed to N3, 500 weekly. Yet, they are still owing.” This alleged exploitation of labour is condemnable. Reports said the victims included squatters who were allowed to sleep in the uncompleted building by unprofessional security guards who collected money from them for that purpose.
It is a positive signal of the state government’s zero-tolerance for non-compliance with building regulations that the police promptly launched an investigation into the incident and arrested the Managing Director of Lekki Gardens, Richard Nyong, and one of the contractors handling the construction of the collapsed building, Odofin Taiwo Henry. Both men are to be kept in police custody for 30 days pending the outcome of the investigation, following an order by an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court, based on a request by the Lagos State Police Command. Magistrate Folashade Botoku, who granted the remand request, said it was in the interest of justice and public safety.
It is laudable that the rescue operation was carried out with a sense of emergency, and involved the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Neighbourhood Watch.
In the final analysis, this was an avoidable disaster, and those that made it happen should be severely sanctioned. In particular, the company at the centre of the building collapse should be blacklisted if found guilty of negligence by the court, as a deterrent to others. Enough of collapsed buildings!
