A coalition of civil society groups and professional bodies in the construction industry is set to launch a major campaign for the standardisation of cement production and importation.
Specifically, the coalition said it would call on the relevant authorities to initiate actions to make 42.5 grade of cement the standard product in Nigeria.
It noted that nearly all the cement manufacturers and importers in the country are in the habit of taking advantage of the lax regulation and lack of enforcement to vary their pigmentation in favour of the lower grade cement (32.5), which in most cases, is used in building works, and seen to be partly responsible for building collapse.
Speaking on the development, the coalition’s spokesperson, Mr. Tunde Ojo, blamed the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, for alleged complicity with manufacturers and vowed to mobilise block makers nation-wide against manufacturers and importers of poor quality cement.
In the working document titled: ‘Cement: Standardisation, Safety Versus Affordability and Poor Quality’, the coalition said:
“How do you identify good quality cement, is it by the manufacturer s name, or by its composition, or pigmentation, if you like? Many a people, whether literate or not, identify cement mere by producer’s name. So, it is common to see most people, builders and non-builders alike, identifying with Eagle Cement for instance, or Elephant Cement, or Dangote Cement, Rock Cement, UNICEM, BUA and so on, just to mention but a few. It matters very little to most buyers or customers, what the composition or the contents or pigmentation of the cement bag is. For many, what influences what brand of cement to buy, is the price, and in most cases, the proximity to the point of usage.
“What that means is that, in a cement market where you have displayed products from Lafarge, Dangote, UNICEM, Ibeto and Northern Cement Company of Nigeria, BUA, Ashaka for instance, buying anyone as experience has shown, would essentially be a function of price and proximity. Not many, without stretching the argument too far, would be concerned, or are even conscious about quality. To them, they are all cement, the difference perhaps, is like six and half-a-dozen. But it is beyond that.
"They are of the conviction that the practice which is quite prevalent, is usually overlooked by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), a situation they claim is partly responsible for the worrisome cases of collapsed structures in the country.
The coalition plans to take its campaign to the National Assembly with a plea that the lawmakers probe manufacturers and importers of cement for compromising standards in the building and construction sub-sector.
The agitators say they will enlist the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to prompt SON to be alive to its responsibilities by ensuring that strict standards are maintained and offenders punished. They will also call for the enforcement of the National Building Code, stressing that it could go a long way in addressing the lax control by regulatory authorities.
The civil society groups argued further that they were equally reaching out to the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) to lend its voice to this unwholesome practice of cement manufacturers which according of them, is endangering the lives of the people.
They vowed to confront the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) for poor standard of locally produced and imported cement.
They contend that their stance is not unpatriotic, rather, it should be seen as a fight not to compromise standards on the altar of monetary gain.
They claim in their working document that in the advanced countries, there is migration from the lower grade of cement or 32.5 to the higher level 42.5 specification and even 52.5 with a uniform standard set by government, manufacturers and importers can be held accountable whenever there is infraction or reduction in agreed specification.
“Maintaining standards for all products range, there are standards. Cement may not be a drug, but it has fatalistic effects as it happens in bridges and buildings collapse when low quality specimens are used. And this has been a recurring decimal in Nigeria. The unfortunate thing is, those who are charged with the responsibility of investigating these recurring mishaps, have never looked the way of the quality of cement used in some of these structures, rather, only the contractors bear the brunt. It is important that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), if they are the ones in charge, should take a closer look at the quality of cement churned out by local manufacturers and also the imported ones as well.
“Types of Cement; broadly speaking there are two, or may be three types of cement common in Nigeria. There s the CEM 1 42.5 R and CEM 1 42.5 N on the one hand; and CEM 32.5 R, on the other hand.
"Besides, there are variants of these with different specifications. The CEM I 42.5 R and CEM I 42.5 N cements are produced with clinker and limestone in the ration of 95 per cent: five per cent respectively. The gypsum that is added during the grounding process is for adjustment of the setting period, which is usually obtained at the end of 28 days.
“Among other applications, this cement is used when good strength concrete is required, especially in concrete productions requiring high strength, or early strength. Also, it is used in productions of thin section reinforced concrete and in highly reinforced concrete buildings, among other uses. CEM II 32.5 is suitable for flooring and wall plastering (rendering).
