According to experts in the built environment, a truck accident cannot cause a properly constructed structure to completely collapse.
In a statement, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency stated that a truck had collided with the recently collapsed building on 1st Avenue in the Banana Island neighborhood of Ikoyi, Lagos State.
Report on the building that collapsed on First Avenue on Banana Island, Ikoyi, it read. The LASEMA response team found a seven-story structure under construction to have fallen when they arrived at the location of the event. According to the information acquired, a truck ran into the building and caused it to collapse.
“Fortunately, no loss of life. However, forts are ongoing to reconstruct the building to ground zero so as to forestall any secondary incident.”
Olajumoke Adenowo, the Principal Architect at AD Consulting, disputed LASEMA’s assertion, claiming that the story about how a cement truck collided with a column was false.
“A properly designed and executed structure cannot be brought down in the manner that this one did by a cement truck running into one column,” she remarked. A building’s weight is not supported entirely by a single column. This is the first chapter of a story that will clear the guilty parties.
He said, “The entire building is already structurally stressed. It is just a matter of time before the building would have still collapsed with or without the impact of any vehicle. It is better that the building collapsed now than collapsing may be six or nine months later, when there are more activities going on with plenty people in the building. The number of casualties would have been terrific.
“Accidental collision of a truck on a building cannot trigger that level of collapse seen. It is not possible. The collision must have been an intentional collision and the collision would be multiple instances on different sides of the building before such a collapse will happen. However, when that happens, you know they are trying to intentionally demolish the building.”
Adenowo pointed out that the high frequency of building collapses was partly caused by Nigerians’ unwillingness to hire professionals.
Clients receive what they pay for, she said. Many Nigerians prefer to work with ‘professionals’ who will accept any amount they offer rather than paying what they should for basic professional services. Be aware that those that skimp on fees will skimp on your project and profit from it elsewhere at your expense.
“Some clients are sincerely baffled as to how to hire good professionals. This is done exactly the way you hire a good neurosurgeon, through referrals, not trials. Some of these clients see buildings that they like and ask their architects to copy the buildings. Sadly, many professionals promise and do not deliver. Hence, it is, therefore, the client’s responsibility in the first instance to hire competent professionals and exercise due diligence in doing so.”
According to her, the agencies tasked with regulating issues of construction safety need to step up, as there were gaps in the system.
