The collapse of the 21-storey building on Gerrard Avenue on Monday afternoon is a symbol of a systemic state failure. It is a reflection of greed, the arrogance of power and sheer lawlessness.
Everything about the building spells doom and yet the state appears comatose and indifferent.
A fifteen storey building was approved and yet the developer raised it to 21! The structural engineer wrote a letter since February last year detailing all the anomalies and informing the authorities about the looming danger. Still, the developer called Fourscore continued, negating the building codes.
There is definitely a lot wrong with a government that cannot exercise a firm grip in ensuring that its own laws are abide with. Some builders apparently take dangerous shot-cuts to evade the law with the obvious connivance of those who are supposed to regulate their activities.
Fourscore was an obvious disaster waiting to happen and yet everyone ignored it. The citizens of Lagos State deserve to know the whole truth about the real owners of Fourscore and not the hapless fronts who are sadly buried in the ruins.
And the only way to unveil the truth is to set up an independent Technical and Judicial Commission which will be composed of the brightest of our architects, structural engineers, foundation and soil engineers, impeccable jurists who will never compromise their professional probity.
Only then we will really know what happened on that terrible Monday afternoon and why it should never happen again. This is one building disaster too many. This is also a moral to the electorate to choose wisely at the polls and make sure that those who are elected effectively represent their interests.
*Chief Olabode George
Atona Odua of Yorubaland
