The Problem
“At least 30 people were killed when a five-storey building still under construction collapsed in Nigeria's megacity and commercial capital Lagos, officials said on Wednesday.”- March 9, 2016 There has been a spike in the number of building collapses in the country with over 20 cases recorded over the last 10 years. In Lagos and environs alone, over 200 persons have lost their lives with several others maimed for life.
The safety and integrity of buildings have thus become a huge source of concern in Nigeria. Experts, professionals and administrators in the built industry have over the years become helpless in stemming the menace across the country.
Some Prominent Cases
Collapse
Date of Collapse
Location
Probable Cause
Casualties
Lekki Gardens Collapse
March 2016
Lagos
Building Violation
Over 30 dead
Synagogue Building Collapse
September 2014
Lagos
Construction lapses
Over 116 dead with several injured
Ebute-MettaTitanic Building
July 2006
Lagos
Faulty construction
Over 20 dead with 30 injured
Garki Uncompleted Building
July 2010
Abuja
Faulty construction
23 dead with several injured
Jos School Building
September 2013
Jos
Structural defects
9 school children ith 21 injured
Oloto, Ebute MettaBuilding
July 2013
Lagos
Structural defects
7 dead
Bank of Industry building collapse
March 2006
Lagos
Weakened structure due to fire
2 dead with 23 injured
Causes
The causes of building collapse are numerous. They include:
- Prevalence of quacks and unqualified individuals operating as builders and even engineers,
- Low quality building materials
- Lack of proper monitoring and control by state officials during construction
- Absence of an automated system that enables monitoring and supervision of building constructions
- Outright corruption
- Non-enforcement of existing laws
- Administrative bottlenecks and cumbersomeness in obtaining building permits
- Lack of accurate database of qualified professionals in the built industry
Available evidence shows several instances of workers or occupants of affected buildings saying in the aftermath of the various collapses that they were aware of violations but did not know how to report to the appropriate authorities
Our Solution
Landlight iReport is here to guarantee action on every reported case.
LandLight iReport empowers you to raise the awareness level in a transparent and open manner.
Its impact is huge, it goes viral immediately, it eliminates the usual excuses from government agencies because everyone is involved, everyone sees, and the alarm level rises in manifold levels and necessarily forces someone to act and avert calamity.
