The National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria has attributed the failure to comply with the building code, wrong and inferior materials as well as quackery for incidents of building collapse in the country.

The council which was established in 1964 for the prevention of industrial accidents and the promotion of occupational safety and health in the workplaces said Nigerian professionals needed to pay greater attention to industrial safety by obeying the stipulated regulations in line with Convention 107 of the International Labour Organisation.

The NISCN National President, Dr Festus Daniel, said this at an emergency response seminar with the theme, ‘Preparing for the worst,’ organised by the Safety Centre in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Emergency Management Agency in Abuja.

Daniel said it was important for building engineers and other professionals to understand industrial safety, adding that safety courses should be taught in the universities.

He stated, “From the fire service presentation, it is very clear: wrong materials, inferior materials. Would you now say we don’t have professional engineers to do a good job? Sure, we do but most people prefer to engage quacks instead of paying the cost of getting the job done best at the first time.

“How many safety courses are offered in our universities? We have engineers who don’t understand what safety is about. So, it plays out on the job front. We have to go back to our educational system and find a way to inculcate safety in our curriculum.”

The NISC called for a more proactive approach towards industrial safety, noting that the safety business should be a partnership between all the stakeholders and not a money-making business.

The council added, “Taking from the present issues that have been happening, there is an awakening in the society. The government has passed the building code, that’s part of it and we have the NISCN national policy document which was just edited last year, 2020.

“Now, both the media and private and public should look at those documents. What is the International Labour Organisation, convention 107 saying about safety in member countries? Let’s implement these things.”

The Chief Executive of RCL Safety Centre, Joe Oduah, organiser of the seminar, said the event was meant to sensitise the public on industrial safety so that individuals can know what to do during emergencies.