Curtailing Building Collapse in Nigeria: Why you need a structural engineer – Chukwuma Emelife, MIEI

There are several things that qualify as a structure, from as simple as a chair/table to as complex as bridges, skyscrapers, dams, buildings, etc. But our focus here will be on buildings, and our aim is to do our best to shed more light on how to curtail building collapse in Nigeria. 

We intend to do this by educating readers on the role of a civil/structural engineer, as it appears that in the Nigerian construction industry, the importance of this professional has been taken for granted. This has led to the incessant collapse of buildings, leading to loss of precious lives, as well as incurring colossal financial and economic losses. But the truth is that these catastrophes can be avoided and mitigated.  

According to a study done over a 10-year period on building collapses in Nigeria by (Odeyemi, Giwa, & Abdulwahab, 2019), the primary cause of building collapse in Nigeria was attributed to structural defects. 

Structural defects are primarily due to bad construction methods or practices, especially poor quality control measures. 

Furthermore, the study stated that between the period 2009-2019, year 2014 recorded the highest number of incidents of building collapse, while had the highest number of deaths from building collapse was recorded in 2016. 

In a report done by Global Construction Review, 2020, it has been reported that in 2019 alone, Nigeria recorded 43 incidents of building collapse, with Lagos alone recording 17 cases—the highest percentage at just under 40% of total collapses. Anambra state came in a distant second with six collapses. 

In March 2019, scores of pupils were trapped as a school building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria. | Sourcr: Thisday

The report also stated that amongst the buildings that collapsed in Lagos, 59% of them were existing buildings, while 41% were buildings still under construction. You might marvel as to why a building still under construction would collapse. This will be discussed in future articles.

Some random internet researches also showed that other primary causes of building collapse in Nigeria include the use of substandard materials, boycotting the use of professionals/professional advice, and hiring of cheap labour. 

Also included are corrupt practices such as project budget padding and subsequent pilfering of the funds, thereby reducing the actual cash-at-hand for the project, and employing the services of the wrong professional to design and/or supervise the structural component of the building design/construction (for instance, letting the architect do the structural design of a building), etc.

A Brief on what is expected of a properly designed and constructed building 

Buildings are designed in the most economical way possible to safely carry and transfer applied loads without failure over a duration of time. This duration of time is termed the service life of the building. 

Buildings are designed to have a minimum service life of 50 years, and up to 100-300 years for monumental buildings. This therefore means that buildings should normally survive and serve its users and owner(s) for a minimum period of 50 years,. But sadly, this isn’t the case for most of our buildings in Nigeria. 

Also, a properly designed and constructed building should be able to withstand a fire outbreak over a limited period. This period is termed the fire resistance period of the building. This period is part of the design considerations taken by the civil/structural engineer, the aim of which is to allow for successful evacuation of occupants or extinguishing of the fire before significant damage is done to the structural material leading to partial or complete collapse of the building.

Once again, sadly, we can’t boast with confidence that most of our buildings can allow ample time for evacuation of people before partial or complete collapse.

Furthermore, another characteristic of a properly designed structure is that the occupants of the building will not feel the movements of the building as it resists applied loads. 

In some cases, like in skyscrapers, there is a possibility that when very heavy wind blows at the top of the building, the structure is likely to sway significantly such that it could be felt by the occupants. 

However, the structural engineer ensures that this sway is very much within allowable limits and do not become so severe as to cause discomfort to the occupants or even lead to structural failure. 

There are some other characteristics of a properly designed and constructed building, but all I’m trying to say is: Get you a qualified civil/structural engineer to carry out your building projects. 

In subsequent articles, we shall give you more reasons why you “must” get the appropriate professional for you building projects.

 

Chukwuma Ebubedike Emelife (B.Eng, M.Eng, MIEI), a practicing structural engineer, writes from Ireland where he is a Member of Engineers Ireland (MIEI) and dedicates his time to educating the Nigerian public on the importance of the role of a structural engineer in building construction through his YouTube channel.