Bomba Dauda
The Chairman of Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Arc. Samuel Obaje, said, 50 years in existence of the state chapter of NIA is worthy of celebration.
Adding that, the Institute has come a long way and the handwork of their professional colleagues in the state are every where and it is based on the Institute immense contributions to the socioeconomic development of the state coupled with 50 years of the existence of the institute that we will be celebrating in October.
The Chairman made the comment at the NIA general meeting held at the Department of Architecture of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaduna on Wednesday 17th October, 2022.
Arc. Obaje went further to say, the 50th Anniversary celebration is aimed at celebrating and awarding colleagues who have contributed positively to the development of the profession . There will be alot of activities during the NIA at 50 celebration which includes lectures, exhibitions, presentations, launch and we are going to invite personalities from all walks of life to come celebrate with us.
The Public Relations Officer (P.R.O) of NIA, Arc. James John Fainom lend credence to the fight against quackery and the incessant building collapsed in Nigeria and the steps being taken by ARCON and NIA to curtail the trend.
“The institute has has laid down established criteria to be a registered member: starting from acquiring education in the field of Architecture down to pupillage and Professional Practice Exams (PPE). ARCON issues the seal and license to practise. The Institute encourages the Continuous Practice Development (CPD) to all her members.
At the Federal level Particularly FCT, ARCON has ensured that all building to be erected must be registered and approved as one of the steps so far taken to make sure we have only professionals at the field and safety is guaranteed.
The Institute also encourages registered professionals to expand into the business of property development because many untrained people have jumped into the industry in the name of developers, which is partly responsible for the incessant building collapsed in the country. To a large extent, building collapsed is attributed to quackery and the wrong use of building materials. Substandard building materials is another factor. Strict adherence to the National Building Code will go along way in curbing the issue of building collapse.