Substandard building materials threat to Nigeria – Experts

Experts in the built environment and the construction sector have agreed that proliferation of substandard building materials in the country’s market poses grave danger to the lives of Nigerians while derailing the development of a vibrant real estate sector.

A former President of the Nigeria Institute of Structural Engineers (NISE), Victor Oyenuga, said the abundance of substandard building materials had contributed to the high rate of building collapse in the country. 

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Worldwide, from 1970 to 2020, there were 181 building collapse disasters reported in 51 nations: 32 occurred in India. Four nations comprised the second tier of incidences: China (13), Egypt (13), Brazil (12) and Nigeria (12).

Though experts have advanced other causes of building collapse such as quackery, unethical practices by professionals and poor regulation and monitoring of the sector by government, it is believed that substandard materials play a big role.

Oyenuga posited that production and sales of substandard materials could be addressed through strict monitoring by the appropriate agencies of government.

He said, “The government should release guidelines for those who are manufacturing steel and give them the minimum standard.

“For the block manufacturers, they know the standard, but the issue is that those who are following the standard are selling at the normal rate, while those who are not following the standard are selling at lower rates. So people now decide to buy those ones at lower rates. 

“But if there’s monitoring by government; to just go out and check the blocks, check them in their presence and when they don’t meet the standard, they lock down the site. If they do that block manufacturers would be following standard and at the end of the day everybody would be buying good blocks at a reasonable rate and at the same time they would be saving a lot of money.”

He said, “So there is no point buying substandard materials that eventually will lead to the collapse of the building. You use money to build it, it will collapse, you use money to evaluate and you use money to start the building all over at a higher cost.

“I think the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) should be encouraged to be alive to its responsibilities. Cutting corners is not the best.”

According to him, a lot of developers are running into a mess because of their nonchalant attitude when it comes to selecting materials. 

Another expert, Arch Wasiu Olaleķan, said, “Substandard building materials are everywhere. There are substandard iron rods. Most of the rods they call 12mm are not up to 12mm.

“For cement, the ratio for measuring it has changed. The strength has reduced. Most people don’t know this.”

He blamed some developers who he accused of trying to cut cost by using substandard materials.

He said, “This shows that we are in a mess in the industry. While it is better to buy a fully built house, you have concerns about what types of materials they used in building the house. So this is a major problem in the industry.”

He noted that some states had adopted a practice where developers were made to sign undertaking before commencing building, saying it was a good step which would encourage developers to use the right and standard materials. 

Also, the immediate past President of the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), Engr Nasiru Dantata, said the federation’s projects were of the highest standards, insisting that member companies that made up the federation were credible and responsible.

He said, “We have the engineering means to check whether a material is good enough or not.

“Luckily for Nigerians, some of the important materials like cement, the association of cement producers have taken it upon themselves to ensure they produce quality cement. But after the production, those that are using it, do they adhere to the standard measurements?

“In FOCI member companies, we know how to mix our aggregate and cement. However, it’s not up to FOCI to look out for those who are misusing the mix design.

“If you are to use 350kg and you go ahead to use 250kg, the building will be standing quite alright, but that may not be for long.”

He emphasised that it was the job of COREN to ensure the right materials were used in the construction of structures.

Dantata, however, said as a council member of COREN, he knew that state units had been established by the regulatory agency to checkmate sharp practices.

He urged government to ensure the built environment and construction sector were regulated and policed same way vehicle administration and road use were being regulated and policed.