NBRRI Wants SON, Professional Bodies To Enlighten Nigerians On Standard Building Materials

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja

 Stakeholders at a one-day Stakeholders Workshop on Quality Assurance of Construction Materials in the FCT on Wednesday. 

The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) has pleaded with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and professional bodies to enlighten Nigerians on how to identify standard building materials. 

This, the institute said should be done through period jingles in the media, believing that the enlightenment campaign would curb the rising cases of building collapse across the country. 

The Director-General of NBRRI, Engr. Samson Duna stated this in Abuja on Wednesday at a one-day Stakeholders Workshop, organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Abuja branch, with the theme, "Quality Assurance of Construction Materials in the FCT".

News Rider reports that in over 50 years, precisely between 1974 to 2024, Nigeria has recorded over 587 building collapses especially in Abuja, Lagos, and Anambra States, among others. 

While Taraba, Bayelsa, Gombe, and Yobe states witnessed first collapse in 2022, Zamfara had only one recorded building collapse in 2018.

The Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) attributed the incidence to professional ineptitude, including excessive loading, use of subpar materials, flawed design, bad craftsmanship, and weak or inadequate foundations.

Duna blamed the use of substandard materials as the prominent factor responsible for building collapses, followed by the use of quacks, and lack of monitoring and evaluation. 

He revealed that the institute has enforced and investigated over 70 cases of building collapses across the country, even as he listed major construction materials as cement, bitumen, aggregate, steel, concrete, sandcastle block, electrical cables asphalt and timber. 

The DG was optimistic that extensive expertise and research in construction materials would undoubtedly provide invaluable insights into improving the practices and policies in the built sector. 

Duna harped on the need for the government and organised private sector to establish and equip laboratories in the 36 States for assessing quality construction materials used in the states. 

He pleaded with the Federal Government to enact a policy mandating all reputable dealers and construction industry to patronise NBRRI to enable them certify the quality of construction materials. 

The DG informed that NBRRI has well equipped laboratory for testing of raw materials and finished products, adding that proper documentation is crucial for tracking quality-related information. 

"Without strong leadership commitment, maintaining quality becomes challenging while insufficient planning arrangement for quality control can lead to deviation from standards. 

"Encouraging indigenous firms to adopt quality management principle is essential. This promotes capacity building and technology advancement, thereby reducing reliance on foreign expertise." he added.