After the collapse of a 21-storey building structure at Gerard road, Ikoyi Lagos on Monday, a lawyer has penned a letter to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the incident and the complicity of Lagos State government officials saddled with the responsibility of ensuring best safety standards.
The Standard Gazette has received a copy of the letter. It reads thus;
“Your Excellency,
RE: 21 STOREY COLLAPSED BUILDING, GERRARD ROAD, IKOYI, LAGOS STATE.
The above subject matter refers. We all witness live on Arise and Channels television stations, the rubbles of a collapsed twenty-one (21) storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria, and ongoing rescue exercises by several government agencies, including LASEMA.
In explaining this gory incident, the General Manager Lagos State Building Control Agency said (as copiously published in Punch newspaper) that the approval for the collapsed building was fifteen (15) and not 21 floors, and admitted that poor materials were used in the construction of that building, hence its collapse. This incident is an example of culpability of government officials and their supervisory agency and failure to perform their duties and responsibilities or enforcement of punitive measures in respect of a recalcitrant contractor and owners of private properties.
Necessarily, it would have taken appreciable time to construct the 6 additional floors, but the Agency responsible to issue a stop-work order and mark the building itself for demolition chose to ignore the construction of those additional floors and therefore failed in the enforcement of extant laws. Why was a “Stop Order” not placed on this building and why was there no supervision of the quality of materials as explicitly stated in several building control laws and legislation in the State.
In this particular instance, which has resulted in fatality and deaths, the officials of the Lagos State Government responsible, especially the Lagos State Building Control Agency are culpable and should be prosecuted immediately, forthwith and without delay. This particular incident is a glaring example of officials of the government of Lagos State, compromising their duties and responsibilities for consideration.
What is this hype of Centre of Excellence all about, if a 21 Storey building in highbrow Ikoyi will collapse as a result of the negligence of irresponsible public officials, who earn salaries and whose lifestyles are maintained at the expense of the taxpayers? We cannot continue like this, as apparently corruption and avarice has become not a social malaise but constitute our DNA.
This incident is a “shame of a nation” state, unwarranted, unsolicited, irresponsible, insensitive, unfair, unjust and indeed criminal and even the Federal government should ensure that the global community do not see us as a lawless society, where public officials are allowed to go scot-free, when culpable or negligent in the performance of their duties.
The General Manager of that Agency has by his own statement that approval was for 15 and not 21 floors surreptitiously indicted himself and his Agency. The proper thing to do is to immediately arrest and prosecute him and his cohorts in that Agency in a court of law and to conduct integrity tests of all ongoing construction of buildings in Lagos state in excess of 10 floors. A Stitch In Time Saves Nine.
‘Kunle Uthman Esq,
[Legal practitioner,
(Member, Body of Benchers)].
