Members of the Nigeria Bricklaying Association (NBA), an umbrella body of artisans in the bricklaying profession on Wednesday identified some factors causing incessant building collapse in the country.

Speaking at the annual national conference of the association in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, the artisans listed quackery, global economic impact, the timidity of some bricklayers as well as greed among owners of building structures as some of the reasons for building collapse.

The annual national conference, themed, Let's Eradicate Building Collapse in Nigeria, had delegates from Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Kwara states.

The state chairmen of the Nigeria bricklaying association from Kwara, Lagos, and Ogun states, Alhaji Abdulraheem Ayenigba, Mr. Oyebamiji Taiye Dauda, Otunba Adeniyi Adeleye Daniel, respectively, in separate interviews, emphasized the need for practical knowledge and acumen among other experts in the building profession.

The people, who described bricklayers as a group of artisans that bring out drawings of other building professionals into physical structures, said that building collapse was not rampant in structures made by the artisans in the olden days as against what is the case nowadays.

“Many building consultants are not grounded in the building profession. Many of them are after their pay. For instance, some expatriates patronized by governments and wealthy individuals in the country do not have knowledge about our soil structures or land texture. There are different building foundations for different land or soil types. Versatile bricklayers or building engineers need to know about all this.

“There are many quacks among bricklayers too, while many lack integrity. They're the bad eggs. That's one of the reasons we have this association and we plan to make it spread across the country. We train some people who would leave after about six months of working as labourers. These people then go about getting building contracts without adequate expertise. In this situation, building collapse could happen in their jobs.

“Bricklayers should be bold and confident in their chosen vocation and not be timid while dealing with owners of building structures, especially during the construction process. Some greedy people would want bricklayers to add additional floor(s) to the building structure against what is obtained in the drawing. Building collapse could occur in this instance.

“We have qualified bricklayers. We also organize refresher training among our registered members on a regular basis.

The people also called on the government to accord the association due recognition and support, saying that they should be carried along in the scheme of things for more collaboration and assistance.