Dangote Cement Mounts Campaign against Building Collapse

Aliko Dangote

The disturbing incident of building collapse can be checked if government recognises and trains artisans (block moulders), regulate their activities and put in place a technical unit that will be monitoring block manufacture and usage in the building industry. Regional Manager, Sales and Marketing of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Johnson Olaniyi, who stated this in an interview THISDAY shortly after addressing Block Manufacturers Forum in Calabar, Cross River state, said the carefree manner in which blocks are produced in the country and the sharp practices in the real sector were to blame for the recurring incidence of building collapse. He said factors responsible for houses collapsing were multidimensional as it was discovered that engineers were not doing their jobs; while government was yet to institutionalise guidelines that those building in swampy or marshy areas must observe, as some develop their property without expert advice and technical supervision. Besides, Olaniyi accused estate developers, especially those building on contract for government or real estate firms, of being too eager to build 500 to 1,000 houses within a short time without carrying out soil analysis; not using genuine materials; building on faulty foundation while beams and pillars may not be strong enough to withstand the vagaries of weather. According to him, property developers in the country would become careful once other state governments take a cue from the government of Lagos State, which now confiscates both the house and piece of land of any building that collapses; leaving the owner with nothing. He also blamed those who want a higher yield (number of blocks per bag) for contributing to building collapse because they do insist on the use of more sand which the quantity of cement in
the bag cannot match, and advised that the right quantity of sand per bag be used in preparing blocks. “The Dangote Cement Group wants to put an end to the unfortunate incident of buildings collapsing in our nation; hence we are mounting this sensitisation campaign across the states of the federation. We are doing this in collaboration with artisans, property developers and cement dealers. We are going around the country. “Dangote Cement wants these stakeholders to know what is right and doing what is right. Building collapse has become almost a daily occurrence in Nigeria. This is embarrassing to a country that boasts of technical know-how in almost every field. The lives that are lost and property destroyed are always monumental”, he said. Olaniyi revealed that the sensitisation exercise has
so far been carried out in all the states in the South-south, South-east, North-east, North-west, North-central, and has only the South-west left; stressing that the geo-political zone left would soon take its turn as his company was eager to see building collapse become history. At the forum, the regional manager told the stakeholders how to test to get good quality blocks, the number of days blocks should be allowed to become strong before being used, noting that blocks for sucking take seven days and those for building 28 days, adding that if blocks are hurriedly used after moulding, such a house risks collapse especially if the weight of the roof is heavier than that of the walls.