How more careful can man be? Or rather, how more careless?
The disregard for due process, the unending quest for more profit than necessarily due and the insatiable appetite for money at the expense of others – their lives.
When the news made rounds, I felt sadness and anger. Sadness, because some families are in total disarray and anguish due to the death of their loved one(s). Anger, due to the fact that these deaths are very well preventable. They could well have been avoided. A preventable loss.
To think that this is a profession that is supposed to be at the forefront of infrastructural development makes it more saddening. The dent never goes away. It lives in the minds of the affected ones for generations to come.
The construction industry has suffered for quite a while in this part of the divide. While giant steps have been taken towards achieving even more positive feats globally, events such as building collapse has hampered and hindered this growth.
To the 25 who woke with renewed vigour to make ends meet a week ago, to the 25 who deliberately and legitimately decided to get their daily breads instead of carrying guns, to the 25 whose souls have journeyed yonder, to the 25 who left their families with holes no one else can fill, this is to you.
Like I always say, negligence on the part of a doctor can kill a soul or two at a time. Negligence on the part of a construction engineer can kill more.
The culprit would pay no doubt. But does that stop another calamity? NO!
To the Ministry of Works; federal, state and even local, National Society of Engineers, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, more steps need to be taken to ensure construction works are done in accordance with stipulated standards and codes. A working system needs to be implemented that will cater for project monitoring from inception to execution.
Lives cannot continue to be wasted recklessly. Enough is Enough!
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