Three-storey Building Collapses In Enugu

A three-storey building under construction at No
16 Nnobi Street, Uwani, Enugu collapsed on
Saturday.
No casualty had been recorded at the incident. Some of the witnesses who spoke to reporters
said that they heard a heavy sound as well as
people shouting at the early hours of the
morning.
One of the witnesses, Mr Chukwuebuka
Okonkwo, said that when he heard the bang around 5.30 a.m., he ran out with the
members of his family. “When I heard the sound and people
shouting, I thought that it was a bomb blast
and I asked members of my family to run for
safety. “When I came out I saw that it was the
uncompleted building near my house that
was collapsing,’’ he said. Another witness, Miss Kanayo Enemkpali, said
she was shocked that a building nearing
completion could collapse in such a manner. Enemkpali thanked God that no life was lost in
the incident. Reacting to the development, the
Commissioner for Land and Urban
Development, Dr Chukwuemeka Ujam, said
that government did not give approval for the
building of the house. According to him, there is a design for this
area and the height design of the building
exceeded the design. “The maximum height of the building here is
three-storeys and the owner exceeded the
approval. “We stopped the work on several occasions
but we discovered that they chose to build at
night to beat government’s order. “I hope this serves as a deterrent to others
who disobey government’s orders,’’ he said. In his remarks, the Commissioner for Enugu
Capital Territory Development,
Mr Ikechukwu Ugwuegede, said that
government would commence full
investigations into the incident. He said the investigation would unravel if
professionals and standard materials were
used in the project. “We will identify all the people involved
including the owner, the contractor and
architect in the investigation because from all
indication, it is a clear case of structural
defect,’’ he said. Ugwuegde said that his officers had not seen
the owner of the building as all efforts to
reach him failed. A construction company, Arab Contractors, and
the state Fire Service were already on ground
to remove the debris. [NAN]

Two Killed, One Injured In Abuja Building Collapse

No fewer than two persons were feared
dead in a building collapse on Tuesday, in
Abuja while another person was critically
injured and receiving treatment in the
hospital. Confirming the incident, Information
Officer of National Emergency
Management Agency, NEMA, Mr. Sani Datti,
said, three people were casting concrete at
an uncompleted building behind Dunes
Plaza in Maitaima, Abuja, when suddenly the concrete collapsed and trapped them. After the relevant emergency agencies
rescued the trapped workers, two people
were feared dead and one person was
critically injured and was rushed to the
hospital. The two people that died were identified as
Hamza and Friday, while Ganiyu Akande who
was critically injured had been taken to the
hospital.

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.