The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has expressed deep concern over the increasing dependence on foreign artisans from neighbouring countries such as Togo and Ghana, warning that this growing reliance threatens the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s construction industry. Builders have therefore called for immediate and strategic investment in the training and retraining of local craftsmen to close the widening skills gap and enhance the nation’s workforce capacity.
Speaking at the 34th Lagos Builders Conference, themed “Collaboration, Cooperation and Inclusiveness for Successful and Sustainable Building Delivery,” the National Vice President of the Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (South-West), Kunle Adeyemi, highlighted the critical challenges plaguing the construction sector, including quackery, low professionalism, and a shortage of competent artisans.
Adeyemi lamented that many developers increasingly depend on artisans from Togo and Ghana due to their higher technical proficiency and superior attention to detail—an unsettling trend for a country as vast and resourceful as Nigeria. He urged industry stakeholders to prioritize vocational education and capacity building for indigenous artisans to improve technical competence and minimize dependence on foreign labour.
He also raised concerns over the proliferation of substandard building materials, emphasizing that quality assurance should not rest solely on the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) but should be a collective responsibility of all stakeholders. Adeyemi noted that with Nigeria projected to become the world’s third most populous nation within the next decade, the construction industry must urgently address existing skill and capacity deficits to effectively support urban growth and infrastructure demands.
Furthermore, he identified erratic building material prices, weak enforcement of local building codes, and the urgent need to reform the Land Use Act as major obstacles to sustainable construction. “Prices of building materials fluctuate so rapidly that project budgets become outdated within days. There must be mechanisms that ensure price stability and predictability,” he stressed.
In his address, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Bimbo Kolade, underscored the importance of collaboration among professionals in achieving successful and sustainable building delivery. He cautioned that professional rivalry, poor communication, and fragmented project systems often hinder progress, leading to building collapses, abandoned projects, and cost inefficiencies.
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Kolade therefore urged architects, engineers, builders, quantity surveyors, urban planners, and other stakeholders to foster a culture of cooperation, explaining that genuine collaboration enhances productivity, eliminates duplication, and promotes higher construction standards.
Echoing similar sentiments, the Vice Chairman of the NIOB Lagos Chapter, Owolabi Ayoola, encouraged professionals to replace rivalry with cooperation as a collective route to national development. He asserted that when builders and allied professionals are empowered to perform their defined roles within the construction process, the outcomes are improved safety, quality, and efficiency in project delivery.
Ayoola also advocated for comprehensive reforms in legislation and policy frameworks to clearly define and protect the roles of each professional within the construction ecosystem. Such clarity, he noted, would foster accountability, restore order in the built environment, and drastically reduce the recurring incidents of building collapse across the country.
The conference concluded with a strong call for unity and shared responsibility among all players in Nigeria’s construction sector, emphasizing the need to develop a skilled local workforce, uphold professional ethics, and ensure the sustainable delivery of durable infrastructure nationwide.
