Tijani Shuaib, president of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), bares his mind on a number of issues in this interview with Special Correspondent, DADA JACKSON.
Vision for NIOB
My vision for the institute is to take it, within my capability and the support of my team, to the next level and also make the body an attractive brand within the seven professional bodies in the built environment.
At the end of my tenure, I want the NIOB to be on the lips of every Nigerian.
View on National Building Code
It is quite unfortunate that since 2006 that the draft bill of the National Building Code (NBC) was sent by the executive to the National Assembly (NASS) not much has been done to pass the bill.
This development has continued to be a source of concern for the seven professional bodies in the built environment.
Those of us in the NIOB and CORBON (Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria) have commenced fresh moves in talking to the relevant authorities and top government officials on the need to see that the bill sees the light of day.
I want to believe that other members of the other professional bodies in the built environment are not relenting in the quest to ensure that the NASS passes the code.
The bill had undergone second reading and was awaiting third reading before being committed to the committee stage.
I believe strongly that the eighth Senate would expedite action on the passage of the bill because the early passage would no doubt help in sanitising the construction industry.
There is no doubt that the code would regulate workings in the construction industry and also help define the duties of all the seven professional bodies in the built environment in order to avoid the frequent conflict among them.
Land Use Act, to be amended or abrogated?
I do not subscribe to the notion that the Act should be totally abrogated because it is good for the polity.
But the section that gives enormous powers to governors in title deeds should be modified to reduce their powers.
Although it is being alleged that most governors use the section to witch-hunt perceived political opponents, I do not think it is enough to make the Act inconsequential, hence the need to have such powers curtailed.
Mass housing
The housing shortfall in the country is said to be about 17 million. To address it, the government should provide the enabling environment for the private sector to be a part of the initiative.
The government should involve private developers by providing the basic infrastructure for the scheme to succeed.
If we are to make up for the shortfall in the housing sector, there must be massive housing for the people, especially low income earners. What we have now is in the low and high income cadres.
Some major factors that should be taken into consideration in the provision of mass housing are cost of land, finance, and sustainability of the project.
Another important factor is the need to involve genuine professionals so as to avoid untoward consequences.
Quacks in the built environment
This is one issue that had agitated my mind even before I became president of the institute. Quackery has become endemic and the earlier it is nipped in the bud the better.
First, there is what I call intra and extra quackery.
Intra quackery involves genuine professionals. For instance, if an architect whose job is to design a project goes ahead to supervise the construction of such a project, that is quackery because he is not trained professionally as a builder.
Likewise, if a builder decides to evaluate the cost of a project when he is not a quantity surveyor he automatically becomes a quack because that is not his area of specialisation.
We now have the Association of Presidents and Registrars of Built Environment Professionals (APRBEP) which tries to ensure compliance with the guidelines for all the professional bodies in the built environment to avoid conflict.
On the other hand, extra quackery is all about a non-professional who engages in the building process without certification by a recognised professional body. This is the worst form of quackery in all the professional bodies.
As the new president of the NIOB I would endeavour, during my tenure, to see that extra quackery is reduced to the barest minimum.
Building collapse
Without sounding immodest, I say that no professional builder has been involved in all the building collapses in the country in the past two years.
The increase in building collapse is quite an unfortunate and worrisome development. A major factor is the greed of most developers and the use of sub-standard and inferior building materials.
Most developers, in a bid to maximise profit, would cut corners hence jeopardising the lives of people.
For instance, where they are supposed to use one bag of cement to produce 35 blocks, they would produce 60 blocks. This is detrimental to the finished product.
The way out is for developers to engage the services of professionals in the construction process. We as an institute would continue to canvass the use of genuine professionals in supervising projects.
There is need for developers to use genuine and standard building materials for construction and anybody found culpable should be severely sanctioned.