The President, Nigerian Institute of Structural Engineers, Samuel Ilugbekhai, on Wednesday called on the Senate to intervene in the construction sector and “create an enabling law for the competent practice of structural engineering in Nigeria” in order to prevent building collapses, such as that of the recent Synagogue Building.
Mr Ilugbekhai, who noted that issues concerning building collapse in Nigeria have been discussed for over 30 years, emphasised the need for the general public to have structural engineers on building sites, as only such a professional can guarantee that a building has strength.
“An average building has a team that works on it. The architect conceives the building. The structural engineer gives the building the strength to stand its entire lifetime. So the building standing everyday means that the structural engineer is continuously at work.
“Any day that building suffers any form of defect that makes it come down, it means that structural engineering has failed,” he said, while on Sunrise Daily.
He noted that the Institute has been in existence since 1968 and “till date, none of our members have been found wanting, in terms of any form of collapse”.
He went further to emphasise that “if you are going to build anything, that a human being is going to be inside, a structural engineer must be there”. He noted that even the simplest of all constructions, bungalow, should also have such an engineer on site.
However, it appears that the general public does not often patronise the services of structural engineers.
“I mentioned that for the past 30 years alone (at least which I’m aware of), we have tried to drum the signal of this danger to the ears of those who are supposed to know.”
We mentioned that many letters had been written to “the appropriate authorities” including Council Of Registered Engineers in Nigeria (COREN), the overall regulating body for engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), warning of the impending danger.
“If you are not a structural engineer, don’t dabble into structural engineering.”
He argued that the engineering authorities should have sent out warning signals to all practitioners and also put in place an enabling policy.
“Thank God the Senate has come into it. It is within their reach to do that.”
He suggested that the Institution, which is tailored after the Institute of Structual Engineers in the United Kingdom, should be backed by an act of law.
“What the Senate will just do is create an enabling law for the competent practice of structural engineering in Nigeria.”
He however agreed that the use of substandard materials also play a major role in the collapse of building, adding that inclement or extreme weather conditions, act of God and human factors are the other reasons for building collapse.
“If after over 30 years, we have not been able to remove substandard materials from the market, then there’s an agency who is not working properly”, he noted.
