“Substandard materials that come into the country contribute to building collapse”

Tijani B. Shuaibu is the president, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB). In this interview, he spoke on how building collapse can be prevented in Nigeria, NIOB plan for the built industry as well as other important issues about the sector.

Read excerpts below:

As a builder, how do you think the housing sector can be sanitised to prevent building collapse?
There are many reasons responsible for building collapse, such as the quality of materials used and workmanship. Also, there are accidental and natural causes.
Workmanship is where the builders come in. By our constitution and Building Act 46 of 2006, we are to regulate building production in all ramifications. By that, we are responsible for the training and retraining of craftsmen and artisans. If we train them and give them quality certification, be sure that building collapse will be averted because proper delivery is there. We are professionals; hence we can’t compromise quality.
Also, the substandard materials that come into the country contribute to building collapse. There are lots of low quality materials used in building construction, including blocks. If we use the right materials with the right strength, a lot would be achieved.

As NIOB president, what is your plan for the building industry?
Our plan is to provide training for artisans and craftsmen. This will enhance the quality of delivery in the building industry. We already had an agreement with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). The Federal Executive Council has certified that we train and certify artisans and craftsmen in the building environment across the country. Currently, we are undergoing the assessment of training in Kaduna. So we are going to roll out the programme by January.
We intend to train a minimum of 100,000 artisans and craftsmen in the country.  It would be like the period of trade test. Then, it was trade test one and two, but now, we have six levels of qualification. We have seven trades; namely, carpentry, bricklaying, tilling, painting, among others. So we are going to train and give them certificates to practise. This means that we are going to contribute to the quality and delivery of the building sector.
Our target is 200,000, but we want to start with 100,000. We are going to open a skills training centre in six geo-political zones of the country and equip them. All they need to do is register and get the forms. This is the quality we want to deliver in order to sanitise the building environment.
Read Full Interview here