Why High-Rise Buildings Are Collapsing in Nigeria — and What Must Change
Between 2000 and 2020 on average, one building collapsed in Lagos every three weeks. The statistics are backed up by families that never returned home.
Nigeria is among countries with a high rate of building collapse in Africa. The issue is no new one, but it comes back again and again, in catastrophic fashion. Every incident is found outwrought, followed by investigation, and then silence, until the next incident. This country’s building techniques are broken, and it’s not just bad luck.
The magnitude of the issue
From 1974 to 2022, Nigeria has experienced more than 150 building collapses reported. More than half of these incidents occur in Lagos. Other states like Abuja and Rivers State have also experienced fatal incidents in the past few years. These are just the ones that are reported; many collapses in smaller communities are undocumented altogether. These incidents do not occur as an isolated event but rather as the result of a systemic failure that is being repeated and is happening across this country and in various parts of the world.
Substandard Building Materials
Use of substandard materials is one of the key reasons for building collapse in Nigeria. The contractors buy low-grade cement, iron rods and sand in order to keep the cost low. These materials are incapable of fulfilling the structural requirements of the materials over time. Beware of a building that gives the impression of strength but is actually weak underneath. Suppliers openly supply substandard products, with many buyers who do not question the quality. But the regulatory agencies are supposed to stop this, and in most states, they fail to do their job at all!
Quacks Wearing the Title of Engineers
The ability of unqualified people to oversee construction projects is a problem in Nigeria. A large number of what are commonly known as site engineers are not trained in structural or civil engineering. Their experience is the sole criterion they use, and it’s inadequate for complex buildings. Developers recruit them as they are less expensive than certified professionals. The short-term gains are at a tremendous long-term price. A building can never be truly secure unless it is designed by and built by professionals. If that knowledge is false, lives might be put at risk from the ground up.
Developers Ignoring Approved Building Plans
Plans have been approved for a reason: the safety and legality of the structure. However, these plans are considered a formality by a lot of Nigerian developers to meet the regulators. After approval is granted, construction typically varies greatly from the design. Any extra floors that are added are not engineered and do not need to be notified to the regulations. Structural load calculations are not taken into consideration, and instead, the maximum rentable space is achieved. The approved building for five floors is lifted to seven, then eight. Each unauthorized addition increases the risk of catastrophic failure.
Fraud in the System
Enforcement is the key to regulation, but if not, it is decoration. Nigeria does have codes of practice, regulatory agencies and approval processes on paper. However, they’re hollowed out from the inside by corruption. Substandard work is accepted for bribes at critical points at the building site. The government is complacent about when codes are broken by the politically connected developer. LASBCA and other state agencies, like it, are underfunded, understaffed, and sometimes corrupted. The end result is that laws are in place, but not consistently enforced.
The problem of land and soil
Not all lands in Nigeria are available for the construction of high-rises. A significant number of buildings have collapsed due to inadequate soil assessment and the use of waterlogged, unstable soil during construction. For example, Lagos Island is largely reclaimed land and has difficult load-bearing conditions. The cost of geotechnical surveys is high, and often many developers will forgo conducting any surveys at all. They occupy land that isn’t strong enough to handle the weight. If the foundation is losing its grip, the rest of the structure follows in a rush and force as well.
Ageing Buildings Under New Pressure
Not all buildings in Nigeria are the most dangerous. They’re decades-old buildings that were not built for today’s usage requirements. There are a number of old buildings that are now out of their structural lifespan on Lagos Island and in Ibadan. However, families and businesses can still be found living in them, as there are not many affordable alternatives. Renovation is frequently superficial rather than deep, covering up existing problems within the building. These buildings are primed to fall, but how is still a question.
What Must Change
They are solutions that are not complicated but that need real political will and public accountability.
The first is that professional certification is a must on all construction sites. Building work, loading and unloading, and supervising the structural aspects shall only be undertaken by COREN-registered engineers. Second, there should be standards for building materials that are rigorously enforced at the time of sale, rather than construction. SON needs to be strengthened and empowered with effective prosecutorial powers. Thirdly, those who do not use approved plans should be held to criminal prosecution, not only fines. There is an insufficient scale of fines to stop profit-driven violations.
Fourth, geotechnical surveys should be a requirement, verified before laying foundations. Fifth, state governments need to provide proper funding and capacities to the building regulatory agencies. The underfunded LASBCA is not effective in protecting a city of 20 million. Finally, Nigerians need to openly and consistently demand accountability of the developers, contractors, and government bodies. There should never be a press conference when a building collapses; there should be prosecution.
What is the price of inaction?
In Nigeria, each collapsed building is a tragedy that could have been avoided. It is a child under concrete, a family destroyed, and a community traumatized. The economic losses resulting from reconstruction, litigation, and lost productivity are vast. However, the statistics are not the ones that should create urgency; it should be the human impact. Nigeria is not going to have a well-functioning economy on an unstable base, either literally or figuratively. It’s past the talking time. This country is in need of enforcement and accountability and the bravery to hold those who are wrong accountable.
