Building Collapse in Lagos State

Dear Sir,

On Saturday, a delegation led by the Governor was at the Banana Island site of the recent building collapse, once again promising remedial and preventive action. On Sunday, we received news of yet another building collapse in Apapa.

When the Ikoyi high-rise collapsed in 2021 taking more than 40 precious lives, there were site visits, investigations, tribunals, and white papers. We were then told that consequences would follow.

I’m not aware of any prosecution so far, especially of culpable Government officials. Anything less is like barking without bite and calls into question the will or capacity of the Government to take effective, punitive action.

To fix this problem, consequences for those found culpable must be timely, appropriate, and very visible in the public domain, while effective preventive measures are implemented diligently.

Also, those public officers responsible for prosecuting those found culpable in previous instances, and who failed or neglected to do so, are partly responsible for this incessant loss of life and property and should also face consequences.

Government must act decisively and with firm resolve to secure lives and property. I hope you will use your office on behalf of the people of Lagos, to take concrete action as failure to act can result in more lives and property being needlessly lost.

Yours Sincerely,

Funso Doherty.