Mitigating building collapse in Nigeria

Abstract

The past ten years (2010- 2020), an overwhelming number of buildings (forty-eight) have collapsed in Nigerian urban cities, with about 77% rise from the previous decade. To address this menace, the study aimed at exploring major causes of building collapse in Nigeria as perceived by building industry professionals, policy makers and the public; with a view of establishing effective ways for mitigation. The primary data were obtained from Questionnaires and field observations while secondary data were obtained from textbooks, Journal articles and newspapers. The results revealed that factors such as change of use for building without following professional protocols is a major cause of building collapse. Poor supervision or lack of supervision by qualified professionals; substandard materials, structural failure; government controlling agency not monitoring projects and standards are compromised, a significant amount (27.7%) of collapse cases recorded during constructions. Other factors include faulty architectural and engineering designs; clients not ready to pay for quality jobs and contractors cut corners for profit. The study recommends use of Building Information Modelling to predict behaviour of buildings under various loading and environmental conditions. Also, only certified professionals should carry out design and supervision of projects. Further research should evaluate the role of technology on existing buildings to check the level of safety for occupants’ in such buildings.