COLLAPSED BUILDINGS IN LAGOS

ADEMOLA VICTOR
HKE 357
SAFETY EDUCATION
From Ketu to Lagos Island; Maryland to Yaba; Badagry to Ikeja; Idumota to Ajegunle, there was hardly any month without incidences of buildings caving in even as places of worships, residences, companies and cold room, school buildings and others were not spared in the year. Surprisingly, no area was spared the tragedies, ranging from residential to industrial areas, from sparsely populated Banana Island to the densely populated Ijora Badiya. In December 2011, no fewer than four cases of collapsed buildings were recorded. While the embarrassing of them all was collapse of the building belonging to the Lagos State Government on the premises of state Secretariat, Alausa Ikeja .
The building which houses the Ministry of Environment collapsed penultimate week trapping seven people. Although, the government in a statement, claimed the building had already been marked for demolition before it eventually collapsed. According to it, the building collapsed while the demolition exercise was going on. Starting from January no months passed without cases of near or building collapse. In the aftermath, many lives were lost, turning children to orphans; wives to widows and husband to widowers while scores saw their properties and means of livelihood evaporate.
Some incidences of collapsed buildings include the one on the premises of Lagos state secretariat collapsed trapping seven people on December 15 2011; a five storey building on Aderibigbe Street Maryland collapsed on October 25,2011 but no one died; On December 11,2011, 12 pupils escaped death as part of school building collapsed in Badagry; On July 5,2011, six persons were killed including a six year old boy as a four storey building collapsed in Idumota; On Saturday July 16 , 2011, a storey building under construction on Doyin Omololu street in Ketu collapsed, killing two labourers on the site; On November 29,2011, a cold room belonging to Haano Industries Limited on Oba Akran Road, IKeja caved in, while 50 labourers escaped death.
However many have blamed state government officials for the recurrent incidence of collapsed buildings in the state even as some bemoaned the sharp practices of estate devel opers and property owners for failing to obey the stipulated standards for erecting permanent structures in terms of quality of materials used and other inputs like the quality and ancillary materials like rods and even skills and competence of the workers. Others also accused the government of paying lip service to its avowed commitment to pull down identified distressed buildings in the state.
Some victims have equally blamed the state town planning authorities for approving construction of shoddy structures with substandard materials or endorsing buildings without proper town planning specification and approval, a development that has seen the crowing of several buildings within a tight and narrow space leading to constant soil stress even as this development is especially noticeable on Lagos Island.
Little wonder evacuation of victims trapped in the five storey building that collapsed on Moganji Street, Idumota Area of Lagos Island on July 6, 2011 took more than four days before the bulldozer could gain access to scene of the incident and before then several lives including a six year old boy had been lost. Building experts have berated government officials of corruption and insincerity in implementing the decision to bring sanity to the building industry which many see as the only way to check the recurring incidences associated with building distress and collapse.
The state government on its own part has reiterated commitment to pull down any building constituting danger to human habitation. If the issue of building collapse elicited many comments, that of flash flood was even more devastating. Geographically, Lagos is prone to flooding given that it is surrounded by the sea while the crowded nature of the metropolis makes it difficult to constructs very large water drainages to take floods into the sea whenever it rains.
Most of these flooding are caused by the lackadaisical attitude of many Lagosians who are guilty of disposing refuse into drainage channels. In spite of the state government’s efforts at improving the infrastructures which include massive construction and rehabilitation of the highways and inner city roads and drainages channels, the occasional massive flood experienced in most part of the state still remain a common trend. For example, the periodic opening of Oyan Dam has been to flood areas such as, Ajegunle, Agiliti, Owode Onirin, Ogijo, Idera and other neighbouring towns in Ikorodu axis. The Akute, Denro and its suburbs are no t spared in this development as they are often sacked by the flood resulting from the opening of this dam. But Lagosians will not forget in a hurry, the flood of July 10 2011’s following a heavy downpour that lasted for 16 hours.
The torrential rains submerged vast areas of Lagos State that many mistook for a Tsunami. For weeks many could go to work while make-shift canoes and bridges became the only means of transports on some streets. Also, many could only communicate on phones because the underground cables and overhead masts were affected. In the aftermath, many lives were lost and properties worth millions were destroyed. To guard against future occurrences, the Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN); his deputy, Mrs Adejoke Orelope Adefulire; and Commissioner for Environment, Mr Tunji Bello have called on residents of Lagos to change their attitude in disposing refuses in designated places rather throwing them into drainage channes even as they warned people to prepare for impending global climate change which may see the state witnessing more dramatic and severe flooding.
TYPICAL EXAMPLES WITH PICTURES

 CAUSE- the building was raised to the first story since the last three years. Work just commenced on the second slab and it was this development that forced the structure to collapse..
CAUSALITY-   3 dead and 7 injured

CAUSE- breach of physical planning laws and regulations by members of the public is responsible for the building collapse
CAUSALITY- 2 injured

 CAUSE- cracks in certain parts of the wall
CAUSALITY- none

 CAUSE- poor design; inadequate monitoring of construction processes by relevant government agencies
CAUSALITY- none

 CAUSE- improper planning
CAUSALITY- 1 dead, 1 injured

 CAUSE- flooding
CAUSALITY- 4 dead 18 injured

 CAUSE- Dr Oluwafemi Damilola, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, attributed the collapse of the building to weak foundation and use of substandard materials.
CAUSALITY- 6 dead 30 injured

 CAUSE- poor building materials
CAUSALITY- 1 injured

 CAUSE- poor foundation
CAUSALITY- 3 injured

 CAUSE- The building was being reconstructed. People are not living in it, the new owner was trying to remodel the building before it collapsed.
CAUSALITY- 3 dead, 3 injured

 CAUSE- Mr. Kadiri Kazeem from the Lagos state Ministry of Justice said “I think what is responsible for collapse of building is the inability of the people to pay the required fees. Many people find ways to circumvent the process and thereby use inferior materials for construction of buildings.
CAUSALITY- none

CAUSE- poor building and construction
CAUSALITY- 6 injured