One confirmed dead, 14 rescued, 25 trapped as building collapses in Imo
By Maduka Nweke
The Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Cube Square Concepts Projects Ltd, Mr. Adegbenga Fashola, has said that building collapses in Nigeria were totally preventable with sufficient action from governments at federal and sub-national levels.
He said for the horror to continue, especially in Lagos state, was symptomatic of failure of government.
Fashola stressed that the government has the power to stop quacks from doing any kind of job in Lagos, and the power to weed off corrupt persons from its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies who are directly involved in the management and administration of land, development, and constructions of properties.
The Cube Square CEO made this known in Lagos recently during the launch of Eko Dream Homes Phase 1 and two units of three-bedroom apartments with every facility fully fitted and equipped, as part of the company’s efforts to see the dream of residents and sojourners in Lagos owning a house in the commercial hub of Nigeria become a reality. Designed for the middle class, he revealed that his firm was established to meet the desire of the low- and middle-income class to live in a decent environment.The real estate management consultant urged governments across the board to remove every encumbrance that hampers development. According to him, securing town planning and building approval from the Lagos State government was torturous, causing delays in the construction process. “In fact, this project was stalled for eight months due to bureaucratic bottlenecks with Lagos State agencies.”
Fashola sued for regular, stricter, and tougher monitoring and enforcement of public building codes from the foundation level to completion. “A whole lot of persons, either as individuals or groups, are involved. Government must ensure that any person building must assemble the right persons — experts who must belong to professional bodies (and have names to protect). We had a lot of challenges building in Lagos, but the dream and desire to accomplish it kept us going. We have plans to build hostels in Yaba and other strategic locations for students. Our short- and medium-term plan focus is at Ikorodu, Epe, and Badagry.”
The developer implored the government and its agencies to abolish unnecessary delays on the part of developers; instead, it should come up with a digitalised system to make the process seamless. When this is done, he said, “It would create more jobs, speed up development, access to capital, and open up the economy and livelihood. Government should carry out regular audits to ensure compliance, not for enforcement or harassment. If a building has a defect, we support the government to demolish it. Like my forbearers always said, ‘Omi Eko ò ní gbé láíláí’ — which means ‘The waters of Lagos is an endless well of success and prosperity.’ In other words, everyone who lives, works, and contributes to the success of Lagos will surely reap from its abundance.”
He added that building structures for public use was his own way of contributing to nation-building and bridging the enormous housing gap Nigeria faces. “We are delivering these thoughtfully built homes to the great people of Amuwo and Lagos State,” he added.
Delivering a keynote on Creating Livable Cities: The Future of Residential Development in Lagos, Mr. Lanre Olutimilehin, Strategic Advisor at Diya Fatimilehin & Co. and Founding Director of Trillium Real Estate Partners, explained that as Lagos continues to grow in population and is projected to become Africa’s most populous city by 2050 — the question isn’t just about where people will live, but whether Lagos will be a city worth living in.
According to him, a liveable city is more than bricks and mortar, but about dignity, walkable streets, functional infrastructure, green public spaces, safe housing, and inclusive communities. “It’s about people being able to live, work, and thrive in the same city without compromise.”
Worried by challenges of housing deficit, uncoordinated sprawl, traffic congestion, and socio-economic exclusion, he maintained that Lagos, like other cities, could emulate Singapore’s model of liveability — an integrated urban planning system through the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
“Singapore was once a congested, low-income city-state with land scarcity and social divisions. Today, it is a global benchmark for liveable urban planning. Lagos needs a similar system to manage land growth coherently and not reactively. Over 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing through the Housing Development Board (HDB). These are not slums; they are clean, safe, mixed-income estates with parks, schools, healthcare, and transport links.”
Olutimilehin stressed that the creeks, wetlands, and coastline in Lagos must be integrated, not destroyed, for climate resilience and quality of life. “Green and Blue Urbanism — Singapore’s ‘City in a Garden’ approach — ensures every neighbourhood has green corridors, water catchment areas, and ecological balance.”
He urged the government to join forces with real estate consultants and explore three big shifts needed to transform residential living in Lagos and beyond: “We need to move from Sprawl to Planned. Lagos must invest in Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) where homes, offices, schools, and recreation are located around mobility hubs.
“Singapore’s Punggol Digital District combines smart housing with jobs, schools, and digital infrastructure — all connected by light rail. Lagos’ Blue and Red rail lines offer a similar opportunity if we align our planning zones with the stations. From Exclusive Enclaves to Inclusive Neighbourhoods, we need mixed-income developments that allow artisans, teachers, tech workers, and entrepreneurs to live in the same well-planned communities. Singapore’s Ethnic Integration Policy ensures a healthy social mix in housing estates. Lagos can create incentives for developers to include low- and middle-income units in all major developments, especially around Lekki, Epe, and mainland corridors.
“From Infrastructure Gaps to Smart, Sustainable Systems, no liveable city survives on boreholes and generators. Lagos must commit to infrastructure investment at scale — central water, mini-grid electricity, modern sewage, and waste recycling.” The real estate expert affirmed that Singapore uses underground utility tunnels, pneumatic waste systems, and solar-integrated buildings. Thus, Lagos must scale up innovation through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and donor-financed infrastructure bonds.
He proposed five actionable pathways and priorities to move from ambition to implementation, saying: “We need to strengthen our planning authorities, modelled after URA in Singapore, with a single authority to coordinate land use, housing, and infrastructure. We must launch a Lagos Housing and Infrastructure Census; we must map what exists to plan what’s next.
“We must develop Urban Green Infrastructure Plans. Flood-resilient design, waterfront parks, and tree corridors must be integrated from the start. Institutionalise Citizen Engagement — Singapore’s MyIdeas platform allows public input on urban plans. Lagos needs the same because people are the city. A shared future, building livable cities, is a long game — but the time to start is now.
“Let Lagos be the African city that shows the world that it is possible to be big and beautiful, dense and dignified, growing and green. If Singapore, once a struggling colonial port, could become a model city, why can’t Lagos? Let us not merely build estates. Let us build futures. Let us not just sell square metres. Let us deliver square lives, rich in community, connectedness and care,” he implored.
Source: The Sun
