Firm CEO fingers negligence, quackery, corruption in Nigeria building  collapse

By Dikachi Elemba, in Owerri

In the aftermath of the incessant collapse of multi-floor buildings in the  country and the various comments from some building and structural engineers,  an Owerri-based engineering firm’s chief executive officer has cautioned stakeholders in the construction sector and bodies responsible for granting approvals to build structures to employ serious tests and studies before approval and ensure that both the soil and materials  are subjected to tests.

Chukwudi Obasi, CEO of Obchuksum  Engineering  Nigeria  Limited decried the recent collapse of a 21-storey building under construction by Fourscore Limited owned by Femi Osibona, which took the lives of many people, including  Femi Osibona, saying the collapsed building must have had serious defects.

In an emailed note to Business A. M., Obasi who described the company as a firm of architects, engineers, surveyors, and estate surveyors involved in construction of buildings, roads, towers and other infrastructure, stated that the collapse could have been triggered  by  so many factors.

Obasi stated that  there might have been a defect in the structural design due to improper estimation of dead loads (those loads that cannot be moved like the weight of concrete)  as well as imposed loads on the structure.

A serious neglect in testing of the building materials used and concrete strength could also be  a factor leading to the collapse of the 2-storey building, Obasi noted, adding that, “in this type of structure, so many tests are required prior to the execution of the project. The soil must be tested to determine the soil bearing capacity which will enable the structural engineer to select a proper foundation type for the structure.

“The reinforcement materials (irons) to be used should also be tested to determine the suitability of its yielding strength before its usage. The concrete materials to be used, namely, cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water to be used, should be assembled and used to cast sample of concrete which will be cured and crushed at the age of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days to determine its compressive and tensile strength of a chosen mix ratio prior to the execution of the project,” Obasi said.

He further stated  that the above mentioned processes and some unmentioned ones would be done by a qualified structural engineer.

However, Obasi noted that the presence of many quacks in the building  and construction  industry  that could bypass all these processes and do what he described as trial and error processes on the site was another factor.

Apart from the said factors, Obasi, the structural engineer, decried government’s negligence as a serious one.

According to him, in a sane society, the drawings of projects of this nature, which could be architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical drawings, must be submitted to the approving authority, which will review all the plans to determine its suitability before approving it.

“[But] due to corruption, the authority does not have qualified personnel to review the plans accordingly,  and most times, [it] doesn’t even go through the plans before approval, but only tells the client how much to pay to get the approval done for him,” Obasi explained.

He emphasised on the need for the authority to be there to checkmate and discover faulty plans and designs, adding that even when the approval is done correctly, the authority must have their representative or supervisor on site regularly to ensure that what was approved is actually what is being constructed on site.

As a result of corruption, many clients can present a two floor plan on paper but could go ahead to build three or four floors on site without reinforcing the foundation, which he said would certainly lead to failure.

He further explained  that due to a corrupt attitude, the supervisor could  come to site and meet  the client or the contractor, collect a gratification and leave without doing his work.

According to him, when the supervisor decides to do his work, accordingly, and maybe, reports the client or contractor to the authority because of some discrepancies, his reports might not be taken because   the client or contractor in question has money to spend on bribe and continues to do the shoddy construction he had  started to do.