By Olubukola Aiyedogbon
The Nigeria Bricklaying Association (NBA) has identified quackery and greed as some of the reasons for incessant building collapse in the country.
The association identified these factors at its annual national conference in Ilorin on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the annual event, themed “Let’s Eradicate Building Collapse in Nigeria”, attracted delegates from Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Kwara States.
Mr Abdulraheem Ayenigba, the state Chairman of the association, described bricklayers as a group of artisans that bring out drawings of other building professionals into physical structures.
Ayenigba however said that building collapse was not rampant in structures made by the artisans in the olden days as against what the case is nowadays.
He also identified global economic impact and timidity of some bricklayers, amongst others, as other causes of building collapse in the country.
Mr Oyebamiji Dauda, the Lagos State Chairman of NBA, said: “Many building consultants are not grounded in building profession, many of them are after their pay.
“For instance, some expatriates patronised by governments and
wealthy individuals in the country do not have knowledge about our soil structures or land texture. There are different building foundations for different land or soil types. Versatile bricklayers or building engineers need to know about all this.
“There are many quacks among bricklayers too, while many lack integrity. They’re the bad eggs. That’s one of the reasons we have this association and we plan to make it spread across the country.
“We train some people who would leave after about six months of working as labourers. These people then go about getting building contracts without adequate expertise. In this situation, building collapse could happen on their unfinished or finished projects,” he said.
Mr Adeniyi Daniel, the Chairman of Ogun State, emphasised the need for practical knowledge among other experts in the building profession.
Daniel said that bricklayers ought to be bold and confident in their chosen vocation and not be timid while dealing with owners of building structures, especially during the construction process.
“Some greedy people would want bricklayers to add additional floor(s) to building structure against what is obtained in the drawing. Building collapse could occur in this instance.
“We have qualified bricklayers. We also organise refresher training among our registered members on a regular basis,” he said.
The NBA called on the government to accord the association recognition and support, while seeking for more collaboration and assistance from the government. (NAN)
