CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1   

1.2  BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The demand for and provision of housing is as old as the history of man. Due to the harsh weather condition, wild animals, need for security and privacy, it became necessary for man to provide shelter for himself and members of his family. Though, the type of houses built in those historical times, served its primary purpose of shelter but lacked the modern amenities, as a result of underdevelopment in the society (i.e. society with no industry). Construction processes were limited to the locally available materials, labour and technology. However, with civilization and technological advancement, man was exposed to a new life (i.e. access to modern amenities).

Therefore, in recent times, there are various types of houses as a result of the numerous types of designs by the architects and the houses not only serve the primary purpose of shelter alone, but also have the modern amenities. There are different types of materials, plants and equipments produced to suit the modern constructions. There are also professionals like Architects, Builders, Quantity surveyors, Engineers, among others, trained in their respective field for proper execution of projects. Also, we have the skilled and unskilled labours, who contribute grossly towards the execution of a project. All these are as a result of civilization and technological advancement which have impacted the construction industry. Hence, the construction industry is regarded as one of the largest industries in the world, as it contains the highest number of people, ranging from the clients, professionals, skilled labours, unskilled labours and suppliers of different building materials etc.

Despite all these, dilapidated building projects still litters our society, causing problems like security threats, promotion of illegal activities, unemployment, waste of human resources, poor landscaping, etc. Therefore, I will start by defining the dilapidation of building project, as an act of giving up or stopping a building project with no intention of returning to it. Nobody initiates a building project for dilapidation, because an uncompleted building project is always a source of sorrow to its owner, an unfulfilled hope and aspiration - a failure to achieve a purpose (Olateju, 1997).

Unfortunately in Nigeria, when projects are dilapidated there are no conscious efforts to ensure completion, instead, new projects are embarked upon, putting money, materials, time and effort to waste, and also, causing problem to the nation as whole.

In Nigeria, the situation of dilapidated projects is further compounded by the continuous award of new contracts which eventually suffers the same fate (Frisch, 1996).

We must really lay emphasis on the issue of dilapidation of building projects, because, it creates a lot of problems for everyone, both within and outside the construction industry and even on the economy as a whole. Likewise, the resources required to execute the projects, which include: labour, equipment, time, material and money, are wasted and the accommodation problem remains unsolved.

Therefore, this dissertation attempts to examine the causes, effects and possible solutions to dilapidation of building projects in the State of Osun.