By Doris Ferdinand
The Nigerian Institute of Architects has muted a plan to sponsor a bill with the help of the national Assembly to bring to an end the menace of building collapse in the country.
The issue of Building collapse has become a PAhas led to loss of lives and properties in recent times.
The National President of the Institute Architect Sunny Echono spoke when the leadership paid a courtesy call on the Clerk of the National Assembly Architect Olatunde Ojo Amos on solidarity.
Echono said they have a legislative agenda which will help to ensure that only professionals with capacity, experience and the competence would be allowed to carry out construction.
“Well it is an agenda of the institute, just like in the issue of building collapse we talk about, to streghten the legislative framework and the laws.”
This he said is to ensure that only those who have the capacity, the experience and the competence to carry out construction activities do so.
“We want to increase liabilities for actors and even building owners because of the responsibility they bear to the public.”
He added that they also want to do same for users of the building to avoid a situation whether due to poor workmanship or cutting of corners or using inappropriate building materials or even using quacks to engage in the building and construction of projects that collapse occurs.
Echono also said that they intend bringing defaulters to book and enforce it. He said they are going to give guidelines on how to designate monuments, buildings of historical values and other national assets in order to preserve them.
He said they will designate proper places for palaces, worship centres, traditional settings, to be able to promote them as historical sites.
“We want to also package them for recognition by UNESCO and other world bodies so that they cannot only act as reflections of our traditions but also offer tourist attraction for people to come and visit them.
“We want to restore them and make them living testament to our history. “We are also looking for various other forms of partnership with the National Assembly and with other branches of Government.
“We want to make it compulsory that for example our buildings must be responsive to all the users including those who are physically challenged.
“There are some building today that are not compliant, if one is on a wheel chair it takes two hours just to get into the premises.
“We want to make sure there is adequate provision for disable people in every building in this country.
“The current practice where the lifespan of building in Nigeria is only between 10 and 20 years in other parts of the world buildings last 100 years.
“It is only when your house can last for that long that you can derive the benefit of the investment you put in. If you have to replace it after 20 years you can never pay back the cost of construction hence you will lose.” He added.
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