Elijah Adebero
Actress Zainab Balogun, whose relative was part of those who lost their lives in the collapsed Ikoyi 21-storey building, has paid tribute to him.

The body of the UK returnee has been retrieved from the rubble and identified.

Zainab took to her instagram page, writing:

“Dear Sammy, I really don’t know where to start. Sammy, I’m going to miss you. More than you could ever know. I wish I could tell you more about what you mean to me.

You were more than my cousin, you were my big brother. You took care of me. Distance wasn’t enough to stop you. You always looked for me Sam, even when I didn’t want to be found. I admire your vulnerability

Your ability to wear it all on your sleeve. You showed me so much love. All of us. It hurts when I read your messages now. Just when I think I’m done crying, it all comes back. This is hard for us Sam. Really hard!

You gave SOOOO much of yourself to everyone. Literally poured out like a tap. I’d ask you for 1 and you would give me 10.

You are the definition of selfless!! I’m going to miss hearing your funny laugh, giant stories and seeing that big smile

“Yo Tobi, kilonsele!” I won’t hear you say that again or rescue me last minute like you always do. You shouldn’t have gone like this and like we’ve said, they had to take down a whole building Mighty Sam.

This will never be ok and will hurt forever. I would end this by saying sleep well but knowing you, you’re probably on the move in heaven with a fast car already. Man like Sammy, I really love you brother.”

Zainab Balogun-Nwachukwu is a Nigerian actress, model and television presenter. She began modelling at an early age after being scouted at 16.

She has been featured in several international campaigns for different brands.
She was born on 10th October, 1989 (age 32 years).

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, has advised regulatory agencies against compromising building standards in order to prevent unnecessary deaths and disasters.

Martins’ advice is contained in a statement by Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, Director of Social Communications of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.

The cleric was reacting to the Nov. 1 collapse of a high-rise block of luxury flats under construction in Ikoyi, Lagos, .

At least 36 people have been reported dead.

The cleric described the incidences of building collapse in Lagos and other parts of the country as alarming.

He urged regulatory agencies to ensure they enforced building codes to prevent unnecessary disasters.

The Archbishop said that the unfortunate incidences of building collapse in Ikoyi and other similar cases elsewhere could have been prevented if proper regulation and strict monitoring by relevant supervisory authorities were in force.

Martins expressed delight at the state government’s setting up of an independent panel of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the building.

He expressed the hope that those culpable would be made to face the penalty.

“We hope that as the panel unravels the immediate and remote causes of the collapse, it would also identify ways of ensuring that we do not experience such disasters again,” he said.

The cleric called for three days of mourning for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives in the collapsed building.

He commiserated with Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the families of those who lost their lives in the collapsed building.

The story of a 26-year-old National Youth Service Corps member, Zainab Sanni Oyindamola Ayinke, is moving many people to tears.

Fearing the insecurity constituted by Boko Haram and other deadly gangs’ insurgency in Borno State, she got relocated to Lagos three weeks ago.

She got an opening for her primary assignment with Fourscore, owners of the 21-floor building that collapsed in Ikoyi, Lagos on Monday.

She was among the unlucky 36 who have so far been pulled out dead.

The incident has cast agony on her parents, other relatives, friends and co-corps members.

Oyindamola’s story invokes that of Onyinye Enekwe, also 26, billed to get married next months but is also trapped in the rubble.

ALSO READ: Sad story of about-to-wed lady trapped under rubble of collapsed Ikoyi building
According to ‘Daily Trust’, Oyindamola was among the six Corps members deployed to the company. But while others escaped by whisker on the fateful day, Oyindamola got trapped in the rubbles.
It quoted a source close to NYSC: “Oyin as she was fondly called was a 2021 batch B corps member who was originally deployed to Maiduguri but got a redeployment to Lagos after the three-week orientation.”

A family member, who spoke with journalists at the scene of the incident, said Oyindamola resumed work at the company about three weeks ago.

“She has been coming here since then. We don’t even know why they sent her here. She was originally posted to Borno but her mother redeployed her. If we had known, we would have allowed her to continue her youth service in that state, the family source said.

“We asked her not to go to Borno because of the insurgency but she went there for the three-week orientation and came back alive only to come and die. She was a very humble and respectful girl, she would greet everybody when she arrived from work every day. She is the first daughter of her mother and they are just two.”

The tragedy that the collapse of the 21-floor Ikoyi, Lagos building represents is swellin as death toll has hit 36.

This is as others, including owner of the facility, Femi Osibodu, are still trapped under the rubble.

This means that he and the other victims have remained stuck in the rubble for more than 48 houurs as the giant building fell on Monday afternoon.

The death toll in the 21-storey building that collapsed on Monday on Gerrard Road, in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State, has increased to 36.

The building crumbled around 2pm when workers were on the site.
Confirming the casualty number on Thursday, the South-West Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the 36 were made up of 33 males and three females.

Farinloye added that nine people which included one female and eight males were rescued alive.

As Nigeria continues to mourn over the tragedy of the collapse of the 21-floor building in Ikoyi, Lagos, experts have been dissecting the issues involved.

Among them are engineers who are lamenting failure to stick to the rules.

Reuters quoted the National Emergency Management Agency Coordinator for Lagos State, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye via text message on Wednesday as saying that the death toll had climbed to 22 after several bodies were recovered overnight. Nine people were pulled out alive.

The engineers gave the reaction, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

The building located at Gerrard Road, was said to have been approved by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LSBCA) to build 15 storeys, instead the developers built it up to 21-storeys.

Mr Sharafadeen Olumoh, a National Officer of the Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers (NICE) said the building collapse was an unfortunate occurrence, which was as a result of greed on the part of the developers.

Olumoh, who is also a member of Engineering Regulations Monitoring Committee in Kwara, reported that the institute heard that the professional that was in charge of the construction resigned from the work when the developer would not listen to his professional advice.

“The government regulatory body, especially the Lagos Building Control Agency came out to say the building was approved for 15 floors but the builder kept on moving up to 21 floors.

“The structural engineer earlier resigned since February last year based on the fact that the developer was not listening to his instructions.

“He went to get other inexperienced engineers and kept on moving on with the project.

“People lost their lives, a lot sustained injury at the same time, and a very huge economic loss as a result of greed.’’

Speaking on what the engineering body could do to prevent such calamity from happening again, Olumoh said the professional bodies had their limitations.

“As a professional body our own limitations are there, we can only regulate the rules and operations. The government has the political power to apprehend some of these culprits involved in these types of crimes.

“It’s unfortunate that Nigeria is recording this huge loss despite the economic depression that we are in. I hope the government will wake up,’’ Olumoh said.

Also speaking about the collapse, the immediate past National Chairman of the Nigeria Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers, Mr Oludayo Oluyemi, said the situation was a pathetic one.

Oluyemi said that this was the highest structural failure to have occurred in Nigeria and hoped that most of victims could be brought out alive.

He wondered what the Lagos state building regulatory agencies were doing when the builder continued to raise the building that was supposedly approved for 15 storeys.

He said that the developers might have applied for additional storeys on the building, adding that the people have not heard from them to draw conclusion as to what might have gone wrong.

“If he got the approval for 15 and was doing 21, what were the Lagos state regulatory agencies like LABCA and the Ministry of Physical Planning doing when he was doing this extension if there was no approval.

“So they can’t exonerate themselves from this problem. Any building above five storeys, the ministry of physical planning ought to know which engineer is working on it, they should have their details.

“But as at now, they have not been able to point at any structural engineering firm to be responsible for the mess being created.’’

Oluyemi called on the Lagos State government to get some competent engineers together to look at the project and find out where errors had been committed, adding that this should be done in conjunction with COREN and the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

“So we should put our heads together and look at where the errors have been committed and how to avoid such errors in the future that is very germane.’’

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, had ordered the indefinite suspension of Mr Gbolahan Oki, an architect, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, over the collapse building.

By Temitope Ajayi

It is quite incredible that buildings fall like pack of badly arranged cards in a state where there is a functional government like Lagos State.

The most annoying statement that came out of the Ikoyi tragedy yesterday was the reason the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mr. Gbolahan Oki gave for the collapse. The GM said the developer of the 21-floor building at Ikoyi used substandard materials and took the building to 21 floors against approved 15 floors.

I think that was the silliest thing to say by any government official. As a matter of immediate disciplinary action, that silly statement is enough for Governor Sanwo-Olu to fire the GM and possibly prosecute him for dereliction of duty. What is the GM’s job as a regulator? Is it not to stop violation of building regulations and approvals. A project had approved 15 floors and a developer had the audacity to take it to 21 floors? In Ikoyi of all places not some backwaters at Ajangbadi or Aberanje. So, from the point it moved beyond 15 floors with extra 6 unapproved floors, this disoriented GM wants us to believe nobody from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Building Control Agency saw the violations?

The reason for building collapse in Lagos like most other parts of Nigeria is lax regulation fueled by corruption. Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and that Building Control Agency are dens of criminals and very corrupt civil servants. Governor Sanwo-Olu has serious job to do. I am really surprised his government is not doing anything to dismantle the huge corruption infrastructure and racketeering within Office of Physical Planning and Building Control Agency. I am pained to write this because my friend is a victim and I have been unable to help him even with my access to some of the senior officials of the government who even appear helpless.

This constant loss of human lives as a result of corruption should not be allowed to continue by any government. These people collect money from developers and land grabbers and look away. That Building Control Agency and the office of Physical Planning should be disbanded immediately for proper reorganisation with people who are ready to do their job and not after bribes.