Performance of Nigerian Construction Industry

Studies such as Eyiah and Cook (2003), World Bank (2003), Anvuur and Kumaraswamy (2006), Kheni et al., (2006), Windapo and Rotimi (2012), Isa et al. (2013), Olutuase (2014), Chete et al. (2016); andArthur (2016), among others, have all stated that construction companies in developing countries such as those in Nigeria are marked by poor performance. The construction sector in Africa, which Nigeria is a part, has a higher accident rate than many other economic sectors. In addition, legislation on health and safety is approved by parliament including ILO conventions, but their implementation by the relevant government bodies is poor (Kheni, Gibb, Gibb and Dainty, 2006; Windapo and Rotimi, 2012). Cotton, Sohail and Scott (2005) note that developing countries such as Nigeria are constrained by a lack of effective mechanisms to implement laws governing employment. Mitullah and Watcher (2003) state that many construction operatives are employed on a temporary and casual basis and therefore the employment conditions are not properly defined thus offering little protection on workers’ health and safety.

Going by the work of Windapo and Rotimi (2012), a major measure of the performance of the construction industry is building failure. Building failure could conceptualised further in this study when provided with definition of Ayininuola and Olalusi (2004). According to these authors, building failure is defined as an unacceptable difference between expected and observed performance. Building failure components includes limited deflection in a floor, which causes a certain amount of cracking/distortions in partitions, excessive deflection resulting in serious damage to partitions, ceilings and floor finishes could be referred to as failure; sudden dislocation or giving way of a structure is classified as building collapse. Adeagbo (2014) has stated that the strategic importance of the building and construction sector necessitates a review of how the sector

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has fared in the recent past. According to Adeagbo (2014), the Building and Construction industry in 2008 accounted for 1.84 per cent of the Nigeria’s GDP and ranked 8th of the twelve sectors in Nigeria economy. It maintained this same position in 2009 but there was a drop to the ninth position in the third quarter of 2010 through 2012 while it moved to eighth position in the third quarter of 2013. Suffice to say that the share of the sector increased steadily from 1.62 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 to 1.79 per cent in the third quarter of 2013.

Furthermore, combined with the real estate sector, building had a combined share of 3.47 per cent in 2008 and then increased to 3.61 per cent in 2009. Nevertheless, this dropped to 3.18 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 and however steadily increased to 3.28 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, 3.41 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, and 3.59 per cent in the third quarter of 2013. Further analysis by Adeagbo (2014) revealed that the two sectors’ share of the overall GDP was ranked 7th in 2008 but dropped to 8th position in 2009. However, it maintained 7th _{position in the third quarters of 2010 through 2011} while it moved to 6th position in the third quarter of 2013. This is indicative of increasing pace of activities in the building construction and real estate sectors during the years. In addition, Nigeria re-based its GDP in 2014 and the figures from the rebased GDP for the country further underscore the importance of the building and construction and the real estate sectors. It revealed that, as of 2010, the Building and Construction sector contributed 2.90 per cent to the country’s GDP while the Real Estate sector contributed 7.62 per cent.

In addition, Adeagbo (2014) notes that the growth rate of the Building and Construction sector dropped from 13.07 per cent to 11.97 per cent in 2009 and 10.15 per cent in the third quarter of 2010. However, it increased steadily to 11.32 per cent in the third quarter of 2011 and 14.31 per cent in the third quarter of 2013. The growth rate of the sector

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improved from the 7th _{position in 2010 to 3}rd _{position in the third quarter of 2013. The} Real Estate sector growth rate dropped from 11.97 per cent in 2008 to 10.94 per cent in 2009, increased to 11.68 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 dropped gradually to 10.24 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, and increased to 10.35 in the third quarter of 2013. It maintained 7th position in 2008 and 2009 but improved to 6th position in the third quarters of 2012 and 2013. With respect to the combined growth rates of the Building and Construction sector and the Real estate sector, their growth rate dropped from 12.3 per cent to 10.92 per cent in 2008. In the third quarter of 2010, increased to 10.95 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, dropped again to 10.88 per cent in the third quarter of 2012. It then increased to 12.33 per cent in the third quarter of 2013.

Furthermore, according to Kheni et al. (2006), contractors in developing countries such as Nigeria, particularly indigenous ones, face numerous constraints, which could hamper the effective management of health and safety, if not taken into consideration. To this end, Gibb and Bust (2006) identified the following factors that could influence health and safety management of construction sites in developing countries such as Nigeria: poor infrastructure, and problems of communication due to low literacy level. Other factors include unregulated practices on construction sites, adherence to traditional methods of working, unavailability of equipment, poor site security, extreme weather conditions, improper use of equipment and corruption. In trying to curtail the poor health and safety situation in developing countries such as Nigeria, Kheni et al. (2006) have recommended that training and workshops be introduced and used to create awareness, and also to teach the labour force of the industry the relevance of health and safety and the need to provide safety and health mechanisms in the construction industry.

However, Koehn et al. (2000) and Gibb and Bust (2006) have stated that there have been difficulties in training due to illiteracy which is a major barrier to effective health and

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safety management in developing countries such as Nigeria, which makes the situation more doleful to the stakeholders. This may eventually have a negative impact on the management of health and safety, resulting in a poor health and safety performance of construction sites in developing countries such as Nigeria, and could affect the development of the sector and the country in the long run. Consequently, there is a dire need to introduce strategies and a better framework to ensure better health and safety outcomes on construction industry in Nigeria, hence the justification for this study.