Building collapse embarrassing, says BCPG Chairman

The Chairman of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild in Ogun State, Engr Olusegun Joseph Sogbetun, has described frequent building collapse as an embarrassment to Nigeria.

He noted that the menace has been ‘terrorising’ the country most especially the city centres, claiming lives and destroying property worth billions of naira.

Sogbetun, a Surveyor, spoke with newsmen in Abeokuta, the state capital, at a workshop on the modalities of operations on site inspection and monitoring between the state chapter of BCPG and the Building Production Management Agency.

He identified engagement of non-professionals in the design and construction implementation as the basic cause of building collapse.

The expert explained that the BCPG, which has its members drawn from seven built environment bodies, is poised to render free services in order to help tame “the embarrassment of building collapse.”

“That embarrassment, we don’t want it. That’s why we put up this association to start offering free professional advice to people and the government on the way they should be doing the construction activities.

“There are quite numerous causes of building collapse, but basically it’s as a result of engagement of non-professionals in the design, construction implementation. If you engage qualified professionals we would not have this issue of building collapse,” Sogbetun said.

Sogbetun also called on government and professional bodies to always train artisans, as part of efforts to reduce building collapse.

He also challenged the government to redouble its efforts on both on and off site inspection , as this would help in preventing the menace.