16th May, 2013
A faulty mast that collapsed has killed a 52-year old man in Marina area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria during a heavy rainfall.
The man, Mr. Adeolu Adeleke was killed instantly when the mast fell on him at 52, Marina, while the mast belonging to Jubilee Savings and Loans Limited also damaged structures in the area.
The incident took place on last Friday after a heavy rain in the area.
Following the incident, the Lagos State Government has issued two months ultimatum to banks, internet service providers, among others to replace their faulty masts or face the wrath of the government.
At a news conference on Wednesday, the General Manager, Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit, UFRU, Mr. Joe Igbokwe lamented that death caused by faulty masts had become a recurring decimal in Lagos metropolis for sometime now, saying that death toll had been increasing.
Igbokwe said the government had come up with a prototype mast that it wants banks, internet users and others to adopt and build, stressing that UFRU expects that the operators would change their minds in their interest so as to avoid incurring the wrath of Lagos State Government.
“We have severally engaged and dialogued with banks, internet service providers and other small users who use these local masts to boost their communication systems to see the need to employ new ways of building these structures to stem the tide of these tragic incidents, but they will not listen.
“We have carried out series of structural integrity tests on some of these structures and reports made available to them. Our findings from the just concluded structural integrity tests on some of the masts within Lagos metropolis have shown that nearly all masts in the state used by banks and other companies are not only defective, but accidents waiting to happen at the slightest wind storm,” he explained.
Igbokwe said the report exposed the causes of this failure to include bad foundation, rusted joints, bad height, space problem, abandoned mast, weather condition, lack of maintenance and use of inferior materials.
According to him, “we have also made it known to them that these tragic incidents of masts collapse and their attendant grave consequences could be reduced to the barest minimum if the operators and other users will listen to us and adopt UFRU standards and specifications.”
He said the time had come for UFRU to wield the big stick, saying that the government did not need to beg its residents to obey the law for the common good of all.
“Insurance companies and other local users must evacuate their old disused and dangerous masts to save lives and property. They have 60 days to go round their branches, remove outdated masts and seek permit to erect new ones. If they fail to do it, UFRU will carry out the task and the companies involved will pick the bill. Enough is enough,” he warned.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga