By Owoleye Oluwakayode
The Oyo State chapter of Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has called on government to find lasting solutions to the high cost of building materials and quackery prevalent in construction industry as part of efforts aimed towards addressing the housing challenges currently facing in the country.
State Chairman of NIOB, Dr. Akeem Wahab made this call while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Wahab who called for speedy action towards making houses accessible and affordable to Nigerians, said that: “The challenge of high cost of building materials can be addressed in many ways. Firstly, there is need for local contents to be deepened, whereby the building manufacturers would be strengthened in terms of incentives and power availability.
“It has to cut across all sectors of the economy, if this can be done at that level, it will help to increase morale of producers and increase quality of materials produced.
“Also, higher institutions such as polytechnics or universities should embark on research into building materials towards reducing quantity of cement in building process.
“The government should fund these researches so that industries, which are into production of these materials can tap into them and make them better.”
He also stressed the need for government to patronise local professionals to boost the economy.
According to him: “Local professionals should be patronised more. That will help more builders, architects, engineers, that will help the money being generated to revolve within the economy and prevent capital flight,” he said.
Wahab who further called for the need for government to create appropriate framework in the sector for efficient building production, said; “for the government to solve the problems of framework, it is very important that the National Building Code (NBC) is passed without further delay. That will allow the general masses to enjoy the benefits of different professionals.
“In line with what the NBC exclusive role and opportunity to manage building process at the site. To also supervise activities of the artisans, because if any building collapses, the builder will be held responsible.
“That means, he has to satisfy, as stated in the NBC, all the processes and building stages must transcend from the first stage till the last stage of completion of the project,” he said.
Latest findings in the construction Industry have revealed that Nigeria is blessed with abundant deposits of basic building materials, which if explored could be the solution to some imported components, thereby reducing the cost of building materials in the country.