THE CAUSES, EFFECTS, AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE COLLAPSE OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: Since the country's independence, the government of Nigeria has persistently made concerted efforts in the area of quantitative (but not qualitative) supply of mass housing through enormous budgetary and policy provisions; however, it is surprising that the rate at which existing ones are collapsing, which calls for immediate attention (Oyewande, 2022). The sight of collapsed buildings strewn over the length and breadth of Nigeria is so unsettling that it is difficult to fathom the impact that this will have not only on the construction industry but also on the economy of Nigeria as a whole. One can only speculate what kinds of edifices these buildings would have been if they had been built in accordance with the specifications (Uwakweh, 2022). It has been said that Nigeria, and particularly the state of Lagos, has turned into the "world's junk-yard" due to the number of fallen structures there that are worth billions of naira (Ward, 2022). It is almost impossible to fathom how a county that is endowed with such enormous potentials in its construction industry could have been subjected to such a catastrophic level of building collapse. According to the definition provided by Fadamiro in 2002, a building is "an enclosure for spaces built for specific purpose, meant to control local temperature, deliver services, and evacuate trash." It is possible to characterise buildings as structural entities that are capable of securing themselves by transferring weights to the ground. In addition to this, buildings are referred to as "structures for human activity, which must be safe for the occupants" in the definition of buildings (Oyewande, 2022). As a result of the buildings' collapse, however, the identical structures have been putting individuals in harm's way either while they were being constructed or after they were completed. The phenomenon known as "collapse as a whole" takes place when either a portion or the entire body of a structure fails and abruptly gives way. As a consequence of this failure, the structure is unable to fulfil the function for which it was designed. The most extreme form of building failure is the collapse of a building. It indicates that the superstructure has either completely or partially collapsed (Uwakweh, 2022). Building failure occurs when there is a defect in one or more elements of the building caused by the inability of the material making up the components of such building elements to effectively perform its original function, which may eventually lead to the collapse of the building. Building failure can also occur when there is a defect in the material making up the components of such building elements. The purpose of buildings is to offer people with comforts and shelter; but, the same building has often turned out to be a risk and a trap for those very same people. It is assumed that the building will satisfy some fundamental characteristics, such as being buildable, having good design performance, being cost effective, having high quality, and being completed on time (Ward, 2022). In general, it is anticipated that buildings will be sophisticated and functional; nonetheless, a large number of projects are developed that do not meet any of these fundamental standards. As a direct result of this, there has been an increased risk of buildings collapsing, which has resulted in the loss of some innocent lives. Numerous studies have been conducted, and numerous workshops have been organised in the major cities of the country by various bodies, government agencies, and institutions in order to look into causes of the incidence of building collapse in Nigeria. However, no one has been able to come out with how each of the factors that have been determined directly lead to building collapse in the country. This is because no one has been able to determine how each of the factors directly lead to building collapse in the country (Uwakweh, 2022). According to Olusola, the structural design and quality management of buildings in Nigeria are two of the many variables that contribute to building collapses in the country (2022). Variability in the material, in the tests, in the judgement factor, in the contractors, in inadequately skilled personnel, and in unprofessional conduct are all aspects of quality management. The study aimed at examining the cases of residential building collapse in Nigeria with a view of identifying the causes, effect and solution.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Building collapse is a defect or imperfection, deficiency or fault in a building element or component. It may also be as a result of omission of performance. The degree of building collapse can therefore be related to the extent or degree of deviation of a building from the “as – built” state which is in most cases represent the acceptable standard within the neighborhood, locality, state or country. (Ikpo, 1998). However, building collapse can simply be defined as a total or partial/progressive failure of one or more components of a building leading to the inability of the building to perform its principal function of comfort, satisfaction, safety and stability. The incessant buildings collapse in Nigeria has become a great concern to all the stakeholders – the professionals in building industry, government, private developers, clients and users, as well as the neighborhood residents. Fall out of the researcher’s concern about the increasing incidents of collapse building nation-wide form the basis for this study to find out the major causes, effects and probable remedial measures to collapse of buildings in Nigeria.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The following are the objectives of this study:

1. To examine the causes of building collapse in Nigeria.

2. To identify the effects of building collapse in Nigeria.

3. To identify the remedial measures or approaches to building collapse in Nigeria.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the causes of building collapse in Nigeria?

2. What are the effects of building collapse in Nigeria?

3. What are the remedial measures or approaches to building collapse in Nigeria?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: quality of buildings materials does not have anything to do with building collapse in Nigeria.

H1:  quality of buildings materials has anything to do with building collapse in Nigeria.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The following are the significance of this study:

The outcome of this study will educate the general public and the government of the day on the causes, effect and solutions to the cases of building collapse in Nigeria.

This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.

 1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study on residential building collapse in Nigeria with careful examination of the causes and the effects with a view of finding a lasting solution to the issue of incessant building collapse in Nigeria.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.