Barely a week after a three-story build collapse that killed over ten people in the Ebute Meta area of Lagos state, another building collapsed in the Ago Palace way area of the state sadly leaving behind nothing for the occupants.
The unfortunate incident happened on the 7th of May, 2022 at Chris Agadi Street off Ago Palace way opposite AP Fueling Station.
Despite the Lagos State Structural Integrity Test, this menace continues to rock Lagos State and this is worrisome.
At the time of this report, the head of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency(LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu confirmed in a statement that no casualty was recorded.
He said; “On arrival, information gathered from the residents revealed that the building gave signs several hours before the building collapsed. Fortunately, nobody was trapped as all the occupants evacuated the area when the signs began 2 hours before the collapse. A headcount of occupants was carried out to ensure no occupants were missing and the remains of the building were cordoned off. The operation was concluded at about 5:23 a.m.” The statement read.
Taking learnings from this incident, we believe some questions need to be answered especially in educating the public in managing similar situations.
What should be done when a building gives signs of collapsing?
Who should be notified and what safety measures should be taken to avoid casualties?
The agency added that the site will be handed over to the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and the Ministry of Physical Planning for further investigation.
While the government and its agencies are making moves on this issue, the big question still looms, “Which building is next to collapse?” “Is this becoming a new normal that we should get used to?”
In addition to the intervention from the Aside the government, real estate practitioners must take lessons rapidly on ensuring and maintaining the structural integrity of buildings. Should there be a nationwide structural integrity certification drive? Do practitioners need to involve an extra layer of testing structural integrity? We must begin to answer these lingering questions.