Building Collapse in Nigeria (2009- 2019), Causes and Remedies – A Review
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Date
2019
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Abstract
There has been incessant collapse of buildings in Nigeria which has led to the loss of
many lives. Many of these incidences were not analyzed based on their frequencies
per year, height of the structures, causes of collapse and geopolitical zones of
occurrence. Therefore, this study investigated the number of collapsed buildings in
Nigeria from 2009 to 2019, based on the factors highlighted above. Published journal
articles, conference proceedings, academic reports and newspapers were reviewed to
obtain the data used for the analysis. The results show that the leading causes of
building collapse within the period are structural defects. The highest rate of collapse
occurred in 2014 while 2016 has the highest number of lives lost. It was also noted
that the rate of collapse is predominant in the south west which recorded 34 collapses
(60.71% of the total collapse during the years under review) and 132 lives lost
(64.08% of total lives lost during the period under review). It was recommended that
the SON (Standard Organization of Nigeria) should ensure that only certified building
materials are allowed in the market, soil tests, Environmental Impact Analysis and
structural analysis should be mandatory and proper supervision of construction works
by competent professionals should be ensured.