An Australia-based structural engineer, Dr Benedict Olalusi, has attributed recurring building collapse in the country to weak regulations, lack of enforcement and poor compliance with structural standards.
He also blamed limited research capacity and poor property management practices for the frequent breakdown and failure of buildings across the country, despite the presence of regulatory agencies.
Olalusi said Nigeria requires a more unified, modern and locally calibrated structural design framework to address the challenge.
The Adjunct Professor of Structural Engineering at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa, said this in a statement made available to Diaspora Tales on Thursday.
According to him, building failures persist because regulations and professional standards are not consistently enforced across planning, design, construction, inspection and certification stages.
“This shows that while an institutional foundation exists, it has not yet been translated into sufficiently effective building safety outcomes,” he said.
The chartered structural integrity and forensic engineer, who works with Sedgwick, Australia, said the problem is not limited to new constructions alone.
“It also affects existing structures, where poor maintenance culture, inadequate drainage management, flooding, changing soil conditions and lack of preventive structural assessment significantly increase the risk of distress and collapse,” he said.
Olalusi stressed the need for urgent reforms, noting that many property owners do not understand that buildings require routine maintenance, periodic structural review and early intervention when warning signs emerge.
He called for a coordinated national strategy built on four pillars: enforcement, modernisation, research and preventive asset management.
“Building safety in Nigeria must be treated as a whole-life responsibility, from design and construction to inspection, maintenance and long-term resilience. Until the country combines stronger enforcement with technical modernisation and preventive management of existing structures, building collapse will remain a recurring threat to lives, property and national development,” the structural engineer said.
