Nigeria: Tackling age-long menace of building collapse
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As a way to tackle building collapse in Nigeria and Lagos, in particular, the Nigerian Institute Of Town Planners (NITP), Lagos chapter, which said that approved operative development plans are therefore a sine qua non for building construction in any human settlement, listed some measures.
They include that government should take urgent action on already identified distressed buildings by asking occupants to quit within 14 days, and that those affected should, however, be assisted with temporary accommodation prior to their securing of befitting accommodation.
NITP also urged immediate inventory of distressed buildings within the State with focus on areas/zones known for transition (Change of use) such as Lagos Island, Ebute-Metta. Structural stability/integrity test should be carried out on buildings identified as old and dilapidated.
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According to Fitzgerald Umah, the chapter chairman, the Ita-Faaji disaster clearly shows that bureaucracy and the need to accommodate certain interests are counterproductive to safety of lives and properties, as the said building had been reportedly marked for demolition before the incident.
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