The first impression you get when you meet Builder Dr. Modupe Balogun-Ogunbanjo for the very first time is that she must be involved in a line of business that’s certainly not in any way rigorous and must have a bit of glamour to go with it. This is because she is every inch a gorgeous looking woman who effortlessly looks glamorous every single time she steps out to honour invitations or attend public functions. Even while at work, despite keeping her look simple most of the time, she is still barely able to conceal the fact that she’s an absolutely beautiful and elegant woman. Her radiant skin, glowing colour and enchanting beauty totally make her a gold fish with no hiding place. Yet, it is almost hard to believe that this accomplished woman is a builder by profession and a hugely successful one at that. She is a construction expert. She is also one who is extremely knowledgeable in the causes and prevention of building collapse as well.
Presently, she not only manages a massive and flourishing Real Estate company called BWC, Modupe also works closely and tirelessly with the relevant agencies and committees to see to the reduction of the alarming rate of building collapse incidents in Lagos. An incredibly brilliant woman, she has been on several platforms, including television, educating the public on the need to take the appropriate steps when embarking on their building project to avert a possible collapse of their building.
She was recently honoured at the 4th City People Real Estate Awards held in Lagos. She was recognized for her remarkable performance as a distinguished builder. Shortly after she picked up her award, City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) spoke with this warm and intelligent woman. And she took time out to explain why building collapse in Lagos has been on the rise.
Let’s begin by congratulating on the award you just received, how do you feel at this time?
I feel happy, I’m encouraged. It just goes to say again, the saying that hard work pays. And it also means you just keep doing more hard work, thank you.
Tell us a bit about yourself, please
Okay. I am a Registered Builder. I am the managing director of BWC Real Estate, we’re in Victoria Island, Adetokunbo Ademola. As I said, I am a registered builder, an astute professional. I have a doctorate in the science of managing estate and building production. I’m a project-oriented person. I build, I design. I am the secretary of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild. So, I’ve been working against building collapse for about six years now. I joined BWC Real Estate last year March, that’s the year 2020, I was appointed as the Managing Director. My foundation basically is construction. I have a BSc. Building and I’ve attended several courses home and abroad, all on construction.
Have you been told a few times that if one was meeting you for the first time, he or she would have no inkling that this is what you do?
Yes, a lot of times when people see me on-site, they wonder, what has she come to do? But when I now start to give instructions or suggestions on what to do, provide solutions to problems on-site, that’s when they realize, wow, this woman is actually well-rooted in this sector. Part of the reason why I decided to go into real estate, I realized my passion for curbing building collapses and I realized the extent to which we had quackery and I felt you can marry these two together because if you’re a professional and you know what it takes to construct, you know the rules, you know the don’ts, and you’ve been able to identify the problems, then it’s easier for you in real estate as well. So, with that passion, I just needed to marry the two together, so that’s how I got into real estate.
With your experience, especially in the area of curbing building collapse, what would you say has primarily been the reasons for the unending building collapses in Lagos?
Exactly, I was going to tell you I was going to take Lagos as a case study because this is my base and this is where I’ve done most of my research and I’ve been on several committees investigating building collapses prior to this time. I would say, for that question, permit me to say it’s a JAMB question, but I’ll break it down because I have them on my fingertips. I will see how I can explain it so that even if a layman reads this interview he will understand.
The first thing is, we have to eradicate quackery. And there are too many of them. We also need to know that it is important we employ the right professionals in any project. You must bring the right professionals to the table. For instance, like I said, we’ve had issues in the built environment generally, and majorly, that has led to building collapses, and some of which I’ll highlight. For instance, I have met some clients who would say to you I’m building in Lekki, definitely it’s going to be a raft foundation and it’s a wrong assumption. My reason is, sometimes, for example, you might have land measuring about 1,200 square meters. Assuming that land is bought by two people and its cut into 600 square meters each, sometimes, on this part of the land, the soil text will read something completely different. On the part of the land, the soil text is reading another thing. The water table may not be the same. Now, what happens in this instance? Sometimes, you may not necessarily have to do the normal raft foundation for the other one, you might have to apply the other techniques, pile foundation and raft foundation in some cases. So, it’s not cast in stone that it has to be a raft foundation because it is on the highland. So, that has led to a lot of foundation design issues. And when you start to have building collapses, sometimes, it’s not the day the building was built it collapsed, it starts from the design. If there’s a mistake in the design, the entire project, in no time, will be finished. What happens is, from the wrong soil test result to the wrong construction techniques, because what I will apply here may not be the same I will apply there, depending on the nature of the soil. So, all these little things people take for granted are very important. And then, approvals too is very important. We keep appealing to them, it might seem expensive but what is worth doing is worth doing well. All over the world, it’s the practice, there’s nowhere you construct for free. So, when you buy land it doesn’t end there, go through the proper approval. Lagos state government particularly have done well in the area of ensuring that their approvals are properly done. The reason is, for every point where you get approval, there is a professional who is brought in to come and have a look at what you have on-site. Now, that professional is the one who is going to determine the kind of design, the kind of materials, the technique and other factors that would be put in place. That’s why a professional is key. The government has tried but I will encourage them to do more because individuals cannot do it alone. Training of artisans is key. There is too much illiteracy in construction. A lot of people go for direct labour because it’s cheaper because there, you know most of these artisans who are, permit me, semi illiterates. Some do have the experience, so those ones who have the experience, let’s bring them to the round table and encourage them. Train them thoroughly so the output is fantastic.
Obviously, people do not realize that the building process is a lot more complex than it ordinarily looks…
Exactly. Which is why I told you that, even the materials you use, are very, very important. Your reinforcement bars, if you don’t use the right one, your project is finished because that collapse is imminent, it’s just a question of time. That’s why you have a lot of buildings tilting. Building collapse is something people should have a second look at thoroughly. If a medical doctor carries out the surgery, he will not carry out a surgery on ten people at the same time, he will carry it out on one person. Should there be an error, one person will die, and that’s bad enough. But in a building, oftentimes, the numbers are higher when there’s a collapse. So, basically, we need to go through the right route. We have the LASPPPA (Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority), engage them, they have professionals there. Whenever you want to do any project, they bring in the right professionals, they check your mix, they check your materials, they check your procedures, they look at your work joints, they look at your designs, is it doable, they check the weight of the building and what you intend to carry on that foundation. So, all of these is key. Generally, we should all be responsible. It’s a collective responsibility both on the private part and the government part. So, as easy as it seems, it is complicated. I told you it’s a JAMB question, there is so much that leads to building collapse. Negligence, even on the part of we the professionals. Sometimes, we take things for granted. It could be the wrong methodology you apply when you’re casting and this is key. You build a new house you consider very beautiful, I call it beautiful nonsense. It looks beautiful, yet you start to see cracks. You’re building in a waterlogged area and you’re painting, with regular paint. Then salt water starts to get on the building affect the painting, and you keep painting your house because you’re using the wrong materials. Your reinforcement bars start to rust because the sort of water you have, you should’ve considered before using the kind of reinforcement bars you used. And if you must use that one, there are protective coatings for them. Really, there should be synergy among the professionals in the built environment. And when I say synergy, I mean even from the estate surveyor, to the architect down to the structural engineer, to the builder, to the civil engineer, all the way down to the person who does the marketing, there must be a synergy. My reason is this, let architects be architects. Let civil engineers be civil engineers. Let builders be builders. Let structural engineers be structural engineers. Structural engineers are actually civil engineers but it’s a different profession on its own again. It has a different technicality and different training. But what we have is that many people dabble into everything. When you see an architect he tells you I build, what do you know about it? You have an idea, yes, but it doesn’t make you one. I did architecture in the university as one of the courses, but it’s not enough for me to tell myself am an architect, no. But if I see an architectural drawing I can interpret it correctly and I will tell you the extent of its workability and I will tell you if it’s a project that will fail. But it’s not enough for you to take up the job of an architect. That’s what I mean by synergy.
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