Building Collapse: Experts Blame Lack of Synergy Among Professionals, Seek United Front for Resilient Lagos

By Godson Ikoro

Stakeholders in the built environment have identified lack of synergy among professionals, failure to conduct proper soil investigation and patronage of quacks as major causes of building collapse in Lagos, calling for a united front to build a resilient city.

This was the highpoint of discussions at a workshop organised by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) on Thursday at the Ecumenical Centre, Stepping Stone Junction, off Badagry Road, Satellite Town, Lagos.

The workshop, which brought together building industry professionals, regulators , artisans, landlords , ans other stakeholders examined why Lagos records the highest incidents of building collapse in the country.
The records disclosed that Nigeria recorded 877 cases of building collapse between 1971 and 2026, with 477 incidents in Lagos alone.

A building engineer, Engr. Dr. Sebastian Ozoamalu. who shared his over 30 years of field experience, said collapse often begins from the foundation.

According to him, on-site investigation must be carried out to determine soil type, load-bearing capacity, salt content, water level, saturation level, slope and excavation stability.

“If the ground is not properly investigated and a building is erected on the wrong soil, it will collapse,” he said, noting that Lagos soil varies from soft clay and peat to sand and hard clay.

Ozoamalu who is also the Vice President, Africa, International Society for Soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering described water as a silent enemy capable of destroying foundations, causing tilting and deep cracks. He stressed that the architect, structural engineer, geotechnical engineer, surveyor, regulator and builder must play their roles to ensure compliance with safety standards.

He urged neighbours and community members to ask questions about ongoing projects and to blow the whistle when standards are compromised.

Also speaking, the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Bldr. Gbolahan Oki, represented by Bldr. Gbaye Florence, likened the building team to a surgical team where the surgeon, assistant surgeon, anaesthetist, nurse, cardiologist and radiologist all play complementary roles to save one life.

“No professional can do everything. When core professionals synergise and communicate, avoidable mistakes will be prevented,” she said.

She listed the eight key professionals in the built environment — including architects, structural, electrical and mechanical engineers — and urged them to say no to quackery. She disclosed that the state government has engaged 150 certified professionals through professional bodies to curb building collapse.

In his contribution, Dr. Emmanuel Aladeloba said the building collapse has persisted because professionals in the industry have failed to speak with one voice.

Drawing analogy from the biblical Tower of Babel, he said ego and the quest for financial gain , sharp practices have made some architects undertake jobs beyond their competence and engage quacks instead of other qualified professionals.

“No man is an island. When buildings collapse, lives are lost, capital and reputation are ruined,” he said, calling for attitudinal change and unity.

Aladeloba who is the Vice President of Nigerian Institute of building decried the influx of foreign artisans, called for reintroduction of certification for all the professionals as well as technical trades such as bricklaying, carpentry and plumbing, and urged regulatory agencies to check the use of substandard materials.

Earlier, a quantity surveyor, Mr. Timi Ogundare, disclosed that Nigeria recorded 877 cases of building collapse between 1971 and 2026, with 477 incidents in Lagos alone.

He added that 79 per cent of the incidents recorded no casualties, stressing the need for preventive measures.

He shared the views of the land surveyor and physical planner who argued that the menace of flooding in Lagos persisted because people provides little space for drainage and elevations haphazardly.
While advocating for attitudinal change in Lagosians towards waste disposal, he argued that plastics and water sachets clogged the gutters. He called recycling, teaching children in schools how to manage waste everywhere.
They also decried a situation where some landlords building on the lands; stressing that government policy should permit the building on 65 percent of land space while other spaces should devoted to barefloors to help drainage .

It would be recalled that the Building Collapse Prevention Guild was established in 2015 as an organisation that consists of all professionals in the built environment nationwide. It is a pressure group that promotes acceptable building standards through public practices and construction of structures as detailed in the national building code.

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