Incessant building collapse in the country was not caused by cement but by activities of people in the informal sector as everybody now parade themselves as engineer with formal or informal training, the Technical Services Engineer of United Cement Company of Nigeria, Mr. Bukola Adebisi (UNICEM) has said.
He also lauded the federal government for providing a conducive environment for cement industry to thrive as bulk of the product was now being manufactured in the country.
Adebisi made the commendation at a trade forum held in Uyo yesterday, noting that by government policy, 96 per cent of the cement in circulation today were produced in the country.
He said the issue of collapsed buildings was still a concern because the industry was not well regulated, adding that many people in the building companies did not have any business being there.
“Cement is not the cause of building collapse in Nigeria. If the right quantity of the product had been applied, the country would not have witnessed any case of building collapse.
“That is why we are organising this trade forum to pass information to our traders, the people that are using the cement, the block moulders, and the end users of cement in general.
“We are telling them what they need to expect about our products, what they need to know to get a good product when they mix the cement well. Even if it is not UNICEM product, as far as the cement is concerned, it goes the same way. Cement in itself does not translate into end product; it is just the constituent part. In essence, we are here to tell our end users how to use the product to get the best out of the cement.
“If the Standards Organisation of Nigeria has come out to say that there is no sub-standard cement in Nigeria as at today, it simple means the product itself is not the problem but the application of this product.
“If you try to cut corners by patronising unskilled people without technical know-how, eventually you will have to pay for it.
“There are disciplinary measures to be taken against engineers, but if unskilled people are involved you cannot hold them responsible because they will build and go”, he said.
“One thing to ensure collapsed building is stopped in Nigeria is to embark on education, awareness campaigns especially as the world is now a global village; and the use of the right engineers and professional”, he said
On cement production, he said, “within a very short period, we are going to even have excess of what is produced which means we are going the way of exporting cement to other parts of the world.
He however, regretted that the problem still lingering in the industry was cost of production and appealed to those involved to make the cost of energy distribution affordable to every Nigerians.
Thisday
Leave A Commentposted in Business by Tunde LEMUEL