How Greedy Developers Are Using Quacks to Build Coffins, Not Homes

There is a pandemic of quackery in construction in Lagos (and Nigeria), and it is alarming. I think we need to start speaking up about it.

Apologies if I have to step on toes with this post, but we need to discuss it – that's what it's all about.

My first concern is: Are projects really being penalized for not having the proper government approvals? Or is it just the normal two red crosses we see on projects, and that's all? I sincerely have issues with those red crosses on almost all buildings under construction in Lagos. Yet, when you peep through, you can tell that some critical aspects are not done right. When you ask the people involved, it's easy for them to say they've paid off government officials, which gives them the freedom to continue their construction.

However, hardly do we have building collapses where government agencies don't have an explanation of having sealed the site earlier. So, how come construction is still ongoing or was completed on the site that led to the collapse?

My fear really isn't just about buildings that collapse during construction, which probably have little or no fatalities. It's about substandard buildings that are just coffins enveloped in beautiful paints and walkways. Those do more damage.

Developers, how did we get here? Just because of maximizing profits, why don't we bother about the environmental impact and death trap this might be?

I remember during my undergraduate days; my colleagues and I were always scared of commenting or advising family and friends regarding their building projects because we understood how a bad decision could lead to death or loss of investment. But how come quacks and developers do some of these things and are still able to sleep at night?

Sentences like "I've been doing this thing for donkey years" or "Do you know how many buildings I've built in my life?"

These scare me, and even in my rental apartment, I couldn't afford to sleep like a baby anymore.

Construction is gradually becoming the highest form of gambling. Tell me, how does someone without a soil investigation and structural analysis and design know what will make a building stand for at least 50 years if that's not gambling?

Professionals, regulators, and institutions need to stand up against this pandemic before it goes beyond repair. Let's make shelter to live and properties secure again.

Cheers!