A Professor of Civil Engineering, Prof. John Wasiu has attributed incessant building collapse to structural defects, sub-standard building materials, unqualified professionals and non-compliance to building laws.
Prof. Wasiu stated this while delivering the 15th Inaugural Lecture of the Edo State University, Uzairue.
The inaugural lecture that was held at the Aliko Dangote Auditorium has as its theme: “Reliability Based Design and Eco-Innovative Concrete: A Panacea to Building Collapse and Sustainable Development”.
Prof Wasiu, who is the Dean of Faculty of Engineering of the institution, blamed building collapse to lack of conformity to building laws and called for stiffer sanctions on defaulters of building laws.
“We have the laws to prevent building collapses but we are not adhering to the laws, All construction activities should be properly planned and monitored by regulatory bodies to ensure that all buildings are constructed according to design, specifications and planning regulations.
“Government agencies should enforce control of building works as stipulated by the laws guilding building construction in Nigeria”, he said.
Prof Wasiu also said building collapse is majorly caused by either man-made and natural factors, adding that the human factor has become rampant in Nigeria.
According to him, most collapsed buildings were found to be constructed with low quality building materials, incompetent craftsmen rather than professionals, saying that existing building codes, meant to serve as guidelines for builders has been rendered ineffective.
He called for enforcement of building standards and codes to avoid incompetent builders, substandard materials, and other cost-saving measures detrimental to the safety of projects.
“In recent times, Nigeria has experienced the collapse of sundry buildings which claimed the lives of many of her citizens and damaged properties worth millions of naira.
“Quite a lot of lives and properties have been destroyed in the several incidents of building collapse in Nigeria.
“And this has impacted negatively on the social-economic status of Nigeria,” he said.
The professor of civil engineering said that reliability based design and Eco-Innovative in building construction would yield safe, economical and durable structures.
“Reliability based design will yield an economical design and an area of reinforcement capable of resisting all load effects on reinforced concrete structures with a predetermined safety level.
“Governtment should empower relevant engineering bodies to make reliability based design check a mandatory document to assertain level of structural safety of any design before they are executed,” he said.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Pro. Emmanuel Aluyor said the inaugural lecture became imperative to offer a comprehensive approach to improving structural integrity and promoting sustainability in construction.
“The inaugural lecture series is our university’s intention to develop a tradition as is obtainable in the world’s foremost universities were professors present their inaugural lectures.
Prof Aluyor noted that the university has been dedicated to fostering academic excellence since its inception, constantly aligning with its vision of becoming a centre of excellence in quality teaching, research, innovation and community development.
According to him “The university leveraged technology-driven educational resources for teaching learning and evaluation, demonstrating our commitment to quality education,” he added.
