Last week’s collapse of the highrise building in Ikoyi has sent jitters down the spines of so many real estate players in Lagos, especially those who are into highrise building construction.
City People gathered last week that a lot of real estate players who play in the Luxury/Premium Segment are worried that the collapse of the Gerrard Road, Ikoyi highrise might make many investors lose interest in buying highrises.
Before the collapse, a lot was happening in that segment of real estate. There had been a lot of activities going on in the Luxury/Premium segment of the real estate market in Nigeria, as more and more real estate firms are currently building Skycrappers to cater to the demand of the super-rich Nigerians who desire exquisitely finished luxury apartments and terraces.
Because of this increasing demand for super-luxury homes and apartments, many real estate developers are erecting structures that will cater to luxury living and ultra-luxury developments in Ikoyi, Parkview, Banana Island, Lekki, V.I. Extension, Oniru area and Co. But they feel the recent Ikoyi collapse will dampen the spirit of investors.
They feel they might not get buyers for the highrises & Skyscrapers springing up on these major streets as fast as before. In fact, if you take a look at the Skylines of these major areas, you will see some of these new Skyscrapers shooting up. You can’t miss them.
In Ikoyi, for instance, just drive through, Kingsway Road, Alexander and Bourdillon and you will see all the mega projects going on there right now.
Go to Banana Island and you will see all the Skyscrapers that will hit you both left and right, as you drive into that billionaire estate. At the Victoria Island Annex, go to Okunde Blue Water Zone area, Oniru Estate, Water Corporation road and see all those tall and gigantic structures.
If you go to the Lekki area, from Lekki Phase 1, right to VGC, on that busy Lekki-Epe Expressway, if you look left and right you will see several new highrises springing up in the skyline. There is also massive real estate development going on in these areas, especially around the new waterfront between Lekki Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Some are official apartments, while others are residential.
City People visited all these sites recently and we were shocked at the pace & level of development going on there.
Have you also noticed that all the gigantic electronic Billboards in all these areas now run plenty of adverts & promos of these new Skyscrapers?
They feel that the unfortunate collapse of the 21-floor building will no doubt affect investor confidence.
Just like many of them, Femi Osibona was doing well with his Fourscore Homes before he died in the collapse last week. He was one of the leading real estate developers in Lagos. A few years ago, he began on what he calls the 360 Degrees Towers, which is a combination of 3 highrise structures located on Gerald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Skyscrapers are refreshingly different. He was constructing 3 Skyscrapers of 15 floors each. What he was building is a 15-Floor strictly residential facility. The concept is to have serviced flats in the 3 towers and for residents to experience a stress-free lifestyle, complete with a hotel flair.
If you have noticed the springing up of many of these Skyscrapers and high rises, let’s quickly tell you that they are being built by some big property developers, who specialise in Premium luxury projects, for both Office & Residential use.
Not many know that the real estate industry today has become segmented. There is the Luxury segment or Luxury-Premium Segment, which offers exquisite apartments for about N300 million and above. Then, there is the Classic Segment, which offers apartments at the price of N60 million to N120 million. Then, there is the Affordable segment which goes for anything between N5 million to N20 million.
Let’s tell you about the late owner of the collapsed building, Olufemi Adegoke Osibona popularly called Femi Fourscore. He was a native of Ikenne in Ogun State Southwest Nigeria.
He had his primary school in Lagos before moving to Mayflower School in Ikenne, Ogun State for his secondary education. He then proceeded to Croydon University in the United Kingdom to study Business and Finance for his HND.
Osibona started the shoes and suits business in 1991. By 1998, he stopped selling shoes and suits after nurturing a Property he purchased in 1997 to a profitable venture.
From there, he ventured into Building Construction.
Osibona was quoted to have said: “I also noticed that many Nigerians at that time were reluctant to go into construction but I believed anything was possible with God on my side.”
Osibona established Fourscore Homes, a real estate development firm. He said his company is a member of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) in South Africa and Zurich Building Guarantee in Europe.
“We have exhibited our expertise in property development in the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United States of America and Nigeria. Fourscore Homes possesses uncommon capabilities in redefining property development in any market we choose to play in,” he was quoted to have said.
He was said to be the first African developer to construct a seven-storey building located at 113, Albion Drive, London Fields, E8, 4LZ, in East London. He then moved to South Africa in 2009 where he built six luxury units of houses called Fourscore Mansions in Waterkloof, Pretoria.
Osibona said in an interview: “I was one of the people whose real estate developments led to the growth of East London. I bought a house on New Cross Road and renovated it. I also bought a piece of land behind it and built two flats there, and that is what I will call my first real estate project. That was how I started building houses for sale. Renowned Juju music maestro, Ebenezer Obey visited the property when he was in London.”
According to him, the 360 Degrees Towers in Ikoyi, the ill-fated structure, was designed to be the first of its kind in Nigeria and the structure “will give peace of mind and comfort to the residents, because everything works”.
“Mr Osibona told a television station that he built over 50 projects in London and Manchester and from there, went to South Africa to build a number of estates.”
“In all the projects abroad, we buy land and develop and I am the builder, I don’t engage any builder. I was in Atlanta for only four months before I decided to buy land. It is the same procedure in housing development and if you have done it in one country, then you can do it in another because it is the same principle,” he said Osibona was a member of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) and a lover of the pulpit. For him, the collapse of the building in Ikoyi was not the first time his structures will suffer damage. In his talk with Celestial Ovation Talk Show, Osibona narrated how four of his 24 flats in Atlanta, Georgia, were razed but the incident turned out to be a blessing for him.
In a viral video recorded on July 4, 2021, Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) London, said Osibona came to him for divine consultation on where he should take his investments to after listening to his teachings on salvation and wealth creation.
“After listening to my tapes, he built 12 apartments in London, sold eight, kept four. Then he came to me again and said, ‘Pastor Matthew, lay hands on me; where should I go again?’ After I’d laid hands the first time, he said ‘where should I go again? I want to go to South Africa; please pray for me.’ I prayed for him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, he went to South Africa and built 125 houses in the highbrow area of Centurion, next door to Johannesburg. He broke through exponentially.
“Then, he calls me and says: ‘where are you, sir? I want to come to you.’ I said ‘I’m in Ghana preaching’. He jumps on a plane and flies to Ghana from South Africa. He comes and says ‘where should I go again?’ I said, ‘look, I’m not your financial adviser. Go and meet your financial adviser.’ He said ‘you’re doing better than them.’ So, I laid hands on him, prayed for him and I said ‘go to Nigeria, your country’.
“They call him Femi Fourscore. “Femi comes to Lagos, boom, he buys a land in Ikoyi and builds 40 apartments and sold each one for like a million dollars.”
“As I am talking to you right now, in fact, this morning, Femi sent me a video. He’s building I think three towers together on Alexander. We know Ikoyi. One is 14 floors, one is 16 floors, one is 21 floors.
Ashimolowo confirmed that Osibona used to sell shirts and ties in Abuja.
“This guy used to sell shirts and ties in Abuja. I just told you he supplied me. He didn’t even have the shirt and tie; he went to others to get for me during that crisis journey. Now, he has three towers. I’m even wondering who should be laying hands on whom,” the pastor said.
When City People asked some real estate players for their opinion on the effect the collapse will have, they all expressed worry. “Absolutely, the collapse will affect the real estate business negatively, in terms of investor confidence”, explained the MD/CEO of a property development firm. “It is a big blow on all of us, collectively”.
Another big player had this to say. “We are all in trouble. The collapsed building issue will affect TRUST and CONFIDENCE of the investors”. Also, sales of highrise buildings will slow down…Yes, it will surely impact the industry negatively.
Another developer says, “Yes, seriously it will affect us, not in a small way.”
Members of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIoB) during a press briefing on the collapsed 21 storey building at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi on Thursday in Lagos. The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIoB) appealed to the Lagos State Government to strictly implement its physical planning laws to stem the rising spate of Building Collapse in the state.
The Institute’s Lagos Chapter Chairman, Mr Lucky Isename, while sympathising with families of the victims and the state government, said the state had excellent laws lacking adequate implementation.
Isename, while identifying the causes of building collapse, said the state had beautiful laws which must be implemented without further delay to curb construction failures.
“We need the Lagos State government to strictly implement the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority laws to put a stop to collapse of building in Lagos State,” he said.
He called for the engagement of qualified builders and other certified built environment professionals in all projects to guarantee quality assurance in building production processes.
“We await the outcome of the five-man panel of enquiry recently commissioned by the Lagos State government to provide detailed causes of the collapse and recommendations,” he said.
Former Ogun State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Akogun Onadipe, lamented the loss of lives and called for checks on other buildings near the collapse site to determine their structural strength to avert danger.
Onadipe said professionals in the Built environment were usually relegated and “builders are annoyed” that provisions of the laws to always have them on every site were neglected.
He said allegations that the developer in the current collapse saga doubled as developer/contractor and used direct labour in building the edifice should be investigated and given commensurate sanctions.
Mr Sunday Wusu, immediate past Chairman, Lagos Chapter, NIOB called for the inclusion of the private sector in the enforcement and implementation of the state’s building laws for efficiency.
Wusu said junior and middle-level members of staff of the regulatory agencies of the state government could easily be intimidated by highly placed individuals in the society, hence the need for a private engagement.
“That is the reason why we have been advocating for private inspectors; marshall them in all the local governments, let them be registered in the Local Government where they are domiciled. Not that a private inspector domiciled in Lekki should be working at Badagry.
“Wherever you are, work within that environment and if anything happens, you will be called upon, and if a management is being called upon, it is not one person, so they will be responsible for what they are doing,” he said.
He said private inspectors could also enforce quality of materials.
Mr Bayo Owojori, the lawyer to the NIoB and other members of the association, called on the government to adopt measures against the negligence of its personnel.
He urged the state government to enforce its existing laws and regulations to curb the repeat of the incident.
A few days back, a writer wrote this on Whatsapp about the effect the collapsed building will have. “Sadly, the Owner is rumoured to have died in the building, (I hope not). His pains were seemingly wiped out, otherwise, were he to be alive, he would discover that multi-storey apartment buildings sales has gone into the abyss immediately after his building collapse occurred. He would have discovered that everyone who had paid for the apartment blocks still standing would want their money back and willing to sell for lesser than they bought.”
He would have seen the other side of LABSCA, as attempts to demolish the entire estate would be considered, that Insurance companies don’t pay for disasters which could have been avoided, moreover, where an expert report on the structural integrity bring an indictment as in the instant case.
The market, for now, will cool off for 6 months and up to about 6 years. Once again, low rise buildings would see a surge in demand across the board with detached buildings being the darling of the market.
I foresee the harshest regime of building regulations for high rise buildings going forward whilst unknown developers may not get approval for high-rise buildings altogether, financiers too would move away from apartment block funding unless they’re probably specifying the contracting and building team. Altogether, another blow to the real estate market.
On the Valuation side for the next 24 months, I would apply a 16-32% discount on apartment buildings valuation in Ikoyi. Premium may reasonably be applicable for a range of 8-15% for low rise buildings with detached buildings receiving the higher band premium.
Regulations and Regulators deserve a sweeping review. The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development ought to find a very acceptable and socially responsible public advocacy plank immediately. In saner climes, his ass would be singed. The reason is that the certification of building integrity at construction stages lies more with the Regulators and their perception.
Right now, all high buildings are suspicious and Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory has a very tough public Trust deficit and erosion of integrity to Manage for the Physical and Urban Planning Ministry of Lagos State.
I saw a post also indicating that the government sealed the building sometime in July 2020. We need to know what transpired which resulted in its reopening. The unsealing process has probably been weighed more in the usual Nigerian context by our Civil and Public Servants. So yes, due to this assumptive, disturbing mindset, I will apply that discount over the value of all high rise buildings in Ikoyi and environs unless and until a structural integrity test proves otherwise.
If I were Sanwoolu, I would immediately request Building Integrity Tests for the entire VI, Ikoyi and Lekki axis. This would somewhat stem the erosion of public confidence currently at its all-time high. This is one building that collapse too many!!!
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