Investigation: More Buildings May Collapse As Fake Iron Rods Flood Market

Grave danger lurks in the nation’s construction industry as indications have emerged that over 80 percent of iron rods sold in Nigerian markets and used for reinforcement in construction works are substandard.
Investigations carried out in the nation’s markets where construction materials are sold by LEADERSHIP revealed that the proliferation of substandard iron rods in the country’s market portends grave danger to the sector.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the trend was caused by the failure of the country to effectively police its borders and the desire of the dealers to maximize profit. They are said to sell a half diameter of high utensil imported rod for between N350, 000 and N400, 000 per tonne, while the locally produced iron rods sell for between N240,000 and N270 ,000 .
Professionals are worried because the iron rod is one of the important components of building construction, being an important element of reinforcing concrete. It takes care of the strength in structure. Thus, it is very dangerous to use substandard iron rods in building construction to avoid structural failure.
Our correspondent gathered from traders that the influx of substandard iron bars was not being effectively monitored by the relevant agencies in the country, resulting in the frequent cases of building collapse.
A trader in Matori Building Materials Market in Lago,  Alhaja Asabe , said though she bought her products from established manufacturers such as Phoenix, Major and African Steel Company to avoid the purchase of substandard iron products, she could not say where the fake iron rods in the market emanated from.
According to her, “We don’t sell fake iron rods but those involved in it do it to make quick money. To me, it is not a proper way of doing business. Nobody is checking what comes into the country. We have porous borders and anything just comes in from China. They will tell you it is imported but when you use it, it will start to bend here and there and will not last.”
As part of efforts to check the menace, the Lagos State government established the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory to carry out integrity test on iron rods from 12mm to 32mm size.