Last year, most of the country’s infrastructures were in a shambles because of lack of proper maintenance.As a result of this, government has been committing higher funds in repairing rather than maintaining infrastructures, yet the negative impact of this is on both economic and human development.Hence in 2014, stakeholders have stressed the need to imbibe maintenance culture as a way to boost development. RAJI ADEBAYO reports.
The alarming rate of infrastructural decay such as roads, power, water supply, health facilities and others in the country has been attributed to the poor maintenance culture on the part of federal and some state governments.
Experts have expressed fear on the seeming failure by governments at the various levels to sustain their infrastructures compared with relative success being witnessed by the private institutions and firms on maintaining their infrastructure.
They argued that little attention was given to maintenance of infrastructures in 2013 or before. Even if the project had maintenance track, experts agreed most governments continued to use the infrastructures without maintaining them until they get damaged and deteriorated. They pointed out that government continues to spend more money on repairing instead of periodical maintenance.
The decay in the nation’s infrastructure such as roads, power and water supply, health facilities and others, have prompted professionals in the built environment to call for a broad course of action or statements of guidance by the government at the national level in pursuit of virile facility management policy in 2014.
The alarming rate of infrastructural decay in the country, according to the experts, would remain unless the Federal Government evolves a national policy to address this challenge said to be the bane of Nigeria’s development.
The built and construction industries experts made this call while baring their minds on the need to ensure that the culture of maintenance becomes an integral part of national policy.
Expressing his fear on the seeming failure by governments at various levels to sustain their infrastructures, compared with relative success being witnessed by the private institutions and firms, a past President of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Chief Charles Adebiyi, noted that professional bodies at the moment lacked the cohesion and vigour capable of influencing government’s decisions that would ensure the necessary political and legal framework that would compel the introduction of maintenance of projects and infrastructure across the country.
He queried, “What can professionals do? When we talk, government officials sometimes pretend as if they are listening without implementing our suggestions, but most unfortunately, we lack the cohesion and forcefulness such as that of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and other civil society organisations.
“But I hope things would get better as we progress in our efforts to ensure that government yields to our call in this regard”, Adebiyi added.
Speaking on this development, the former President of International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Mr. Tony Ezeaku, revealed that facility management would soon receive a boost in the country as plans are said to be underway to ensure the manifestation of the long overdue policy.
He noted that the association was at the verge of getting the attention of governments to ensure that the place of facility managers was not only recognised but they would be enforced to ensure the sustainability of government projects.
“It is a serious matter that billions of naira was invested on some assets without a corresponding measure to ensure their functionality. The IFMA in collaboration with the estate surveyors and valuers would ensure a new maintenance culture in Nigeria.”
Assistant General Secretary of IFMA, Olalekan Akinwumi, said the purpose of facilities management was to develop, implement and sustain a safe, healthy, functional, productive, friendly environment based on an effective cost model.
Unlike property management that focuses on the maintenance of building, facility planning recognises that every decision made in business planning has a direct impact on an organisation’s real assets and needs.
“The purpose of strategic facilities planning therefore is to develop a flexible and implement able plan based on the specific and unique considerations of the individual business”.
Akinwumi, who is also publicity secretary of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Lagos branch, argued that facilities in a hotel, for instance are different from a bank, or residential buildings, thus, the need to understand various approaches.
He posited that the goals of comprehensive maintenance programme include the reduction on capital repairs and unscheduled shutdowns and repairs, extend equipment life, thereby extending facility’s life span, realise life-cycle cost savings and provide safe, functional systems and facilities that meet the design intent.
Also, the Managing Director of Alpha Mead Facilities and Management Services Limited, Mr. Femi Akintunde, in a paper: “Facility Management Functions: Operations and Maintenance Challenge,” explained the imperative of constant maintenance of facilities, be it government or privately owned properties.
He said the main objective of maintaining assets at an optimum level is to establish a compromise between the repair, replacement, servicing and useful function as he maintained that assets can be maintained as well as under-maintained. Also, he stated that now is the time to vigorously pursue the idea and culture of facilities’ management in Nigeria.
According to him, maintenance of infrastructures makes them live longer and last for years rather than wasting money on full repairing which has been having great negative impact on both human and economic development and growth of the country.
The former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, attributed poor condition of public infrastructure across the country to poor maintenance and called for proper maintenance of public property in this year in order to enhance the development of the society.
He explained that provision and availability of necessary infrastructure is for socio-economic growth of any society and it is believed to be the responsibility of any government that is people-oriented.
Shonekan blamed the infrastructure decay in Nigeria on poor maintenance culture among Nigerians noting that unless the people imbibe the culture of maintaining public property, the desired socio-economic growth would be unrealisable in 2014.
He equally appealed to Nigerians to always support any administration that shows interest in the provision of necessary infrastructure that could encourage socio-economic development through the prompt payment of the taxes and other levies stressing that for good roads, power, water and other amenities to be on ground, fund must be available.
Also, the Managing Director of Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Gabriel Amuchi, said various challenges are confronting infrastructure especially federal roads and efforts had been put in place by the agency to confront the challenges.
Amuchi disclosed that at the inception, the agency inherited federal roads that were constructed in 70’s after the civil war and during the oil boom with life span of about 20 to 25 years, but due to poor maintenance culture and exposure to all sorts of traffic in the absence of other transportation system such as rail system and national carrier, majority of these roads collapsed as a result of heavy pressure on them.
He said FERMA, an agency established in 2004 and saddled with the mandate of maintaining and fixing bad spots in all federal roads, has been battling with the responsibility of recovering, maintaining and retaining these roads through retainancy programme.
According to him, “we are trying to open a new link with the public on how to get closer to them and inculcate maintenance culture in them and also get information from them where there is bad spot on federal roads and where there is abuse.
“Working with the public would collectively contribute to our efforts in recovering our roads in various ways; this is national responsibility that all of us must rise to this occasion and ensure that with the Federal Government’s transformation agenda, we all get involved to ensure that our roads are fixed for Nigerians that are using them.
Amuchi said blockage of side drains and drainage channels is major obstacle which makes it difficult for drainage channels to ensure free flow and collection of surface water away from the road to prevent infiltration of water into the pavement structures and foundations, thus preventing its failure.
He maintained that most major roads in the country have their drains and outlet channels, but have been turned into refuse dumps, some overgrown with weeds and completely silted due to lack of maintenance which leads to the accumulation of water on the carriageway and subsequent infiltration into the road pavement with the consequence of road failure being witnessed in many roads across the country.
He added that erection of illegal structures on road side, even establishment of market, especially at the entrance of toll gates in most of the federal roads poses a serious threat to the sustainability of lifespan of the expressway.
“You will see in some places, they would put posters to cover road signs and the signs play vital roles in curbing road accidents. We must have a change of attitude, we can’t stay in Nigeria and invite outsider to come and fix our roads for us. It our property, and we must ensure that they are in good condition.
Amuchi maintained that his office would continue to do everything at its disposal in 2014 to return sanity back to the federal roads across the country and make them be in proper and good motorable condition.
An international workshop was organised in Abuja to sensitise Nigerians and governments on the importance of maintenance of infrastructure and inculcate the idea of maintenance culture as a way of life in nation building.
The five-day international workshop on the theme: “Maintenance of Infrastructure,” was organised by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), in collaboration with International Network for Professional Engineers Development Institute (INPEDI), Engineering Staff College of India (ESCI) and International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre (ISTIC).
At the end of the workshop, the following observations and recommendations were made for Nigeria in respect of maintenance of infrastructures in a communiqué signed by the Registrar of COREN, Engineer Felix Atume. These include government’s evolvement in a maintenance policy on the various aspects of infrastructure in the country commensurate to the design life of the infrastructure.
Maintenance planning should be part of budget rolling plans in Nigeria and should further be incorporated at the conception stage of all projects, approving authorities in Nigeria should ensure that maintenance manuals henceforth accompany all new items of infrastructure to be developed before approvals are granted.
Furthermore, maintenance cost should form part of the cost of procurement and award of contract such that during the award of any contract (construction or rehabilitation work), provision should be made in the conditions of contract for the contractor to maintain the infrastructure for a minimum period of five years.
The contractor must submit maintenance manuals in English language before certificate of penultimate payment is issued and government should ensure that all items of infrastructure incorporate Green Engineering for energy and cost-saving purposes. COREN should ensure that this requirement is incorporated into the National Building Code.
The Federal Government should establish the Road Authority and states should be encouraged to do same. Furthermore, there is the need for the establishment of Road Fund as another source of funding for road development in the country.
Government should establish special funds for maintenance of infrastructure and such allocation should not lapse at the end of each financial year. Government should ensure that the data bank on infrastructure is updated regularly and utilised.
Users of services, facilities and infrastructure should pay for their maintenance in view of the deplorable condition of the roads. Also, there is need to generate funds for their maintenance and rehabilitation through appropriate tolls.
The prevalent axle load on roads is higher than the designed axle load, and there is need to control by establishment of weighbridge stations. Moreover, the a dearth of craftsmen, technicians and technologists in the infrastructure industry, calls for the urgent need to resuscitate all technical colleges and institutions as well as training schools at the federal and state levels and that capacity building for maintenance of infrastructure must be given priority.
To achieve any meaningful development and growth, stakeholders agreed that government should evolve legislation on facility management this year as a part of sustainability of existing infrastructure and effort towards provision of new ones.