The Nigerian Institute of Building has called on regulators to put concerted efforts towards dealing with the prevalence of quackery in the building profession through enforcement.

NIOB President, Kunle Awobudu, made the call at the 2021 Conference and Annual General Meeting of NIOB held in Lagos.

Awobudu said, “The primary motive of those who engage in quackery is to make immediate pecuniary gains, giving little consideration to the risks involved.

“The outcome of many investigations of collapsed buildings in this country has revealed a prime cause, which is quackery.

“Quackery in building construction has really turned gains to pains in many homes. Quackery has left on its trail a tale of woes.

“From October, 1974 to July 2021, the total number of recorded collapsed buildings in Nigeria is about 461; total number of recorded deaths is about 1,090 with uncountable number of the injured.

“This shows that building construction is one of the most sensitive and delicate professional practices that should be guarded against quackery.

“Another calamitous building collapse that government instituted a legal case against was that of Lekki Gardens that occurred on March 8, 2016, where 34 persons died.

“The reports from the robust scientific investigations conducted by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild were used by the government for the prosecution. The case is still under trial; judgment is still being awaited.

“Those involved in the construction of collapsed buildings in other parts of the country have not been brought to book.

“Until quacks, be they individual or corporate entities, involved in collapsed building cases are brought to book to serve as deterrents, building construction work will remain an attractive business for charlatans, but a dangerous phenomenon for the Nigerian nation.”

He stressed the need for more enforcement to address this issue.