According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, shelter is one of the most important needs of people. However, in the past months, there have been cases of collapsed buildings in Lagos and some other states in Nigeria. These issues are always attributed to many factors which we are going to address in this article.
A substandard building refers to any building or structure which endangers the life, health, property, safety of the public or occupants. On the other hand, substandard building or structure refers to any unfinished structure that is partially constructed or destroyed to remain in a state of partial destruction or construction. Its appearance reduces the value of the property and its neighborhood.
The Lagos state-building control agency is saddled with the responsibility of building control in all ramifications.
CAUSES OF SUBSTANDARD BUILDINGS IN LAGOS STATE
- Financial factor: As a result of lack of funds for quality construction of buildings, incompetent laborers and inexperienced contractors are employed to carry out the jobs on sites. This leads to the use of non-quality materials which birth low-quality buildings posing danger to occupants of the building. Furthermore, substandard buildings suffer from ignorance of relevant building codes, lack of supervision, poor maintenance, and many more.
- Corruption: This is an endemic that most people suffer from. Corruption is not only an attribute of the government but also the masses. Most especially the personnel at the top, always abuse entrusted powers for profit. Corruption does not only encompass the government but also those who are engaged in the building construction process. Corruption also arises as a result of unethical behavior which includes bribing to win contracts, wrong invoicing of nonstandard materials. The influence of corruption poses rapid deterioration of buildings and consequently higher maintenance costs. Check: Properties for sale in Lagos
- Negligence of workers: Carelessness on the part of the workers can also lead to the collapse of the building. Not paying adequate attention to details
- Lack of adherence to approved building plans: The building plan spells out the design of a building on completion. Illegal alteration to an approved building drawing may cause a potential problem to the building. A situation, where a building is meant to undergo a particular method and such method is changed may lead to a change of component need for the methods the building was meant to undergo. Also read: Guide to getting a building approval plan in Lagos
- Lack of soil investigation: Soil analysis is also a vital procedure to be done before a building is constructed. Investigating the soil influences foundation types. Ignorance of this may cause a potential danger to occupants.
- Defective architectural design: This problem arises when the engineers or contractors failed to carry out feasibility studies, site investigations for adequate architectural designs.
In conclusion
To reduce the problem of incessant collapse of buildings in Lagos Nigeria, it is advisable that developers and contractors should follow the building construction process.