In furtherance of its campaign against incessant building collapse in the country, Dangote Cement Plc has embarked on a nationwide sensitisation and training of block makers. The endeavour recently took officials of the company to Oyo State, where it conducted practical training and demonstration of the process for the production of quality blocks. The company also donated tools and other materials to block makers in the state to assist them in the production of quality blocks.

The programme training is holding in partnership with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Council of Registered Engineers in Nigeria (COREN).

Explaining the reason behind the initiative, the South West Regional Head of Dangote Cement, Funmi Sani, said the company is concerned about the rising cases of building collapse with its attendant loss of lives, most of which are traceable to the use of low quality material especially blocks. She expressed the hope that the forum would enable the stakeholders to address the problem.

In his presentation, Johnson Olaniyi, the Regional Manager, Sales and Marketing for Dangote Cement, adduced some reasons for the production of substandard blocks. He identified inadequate manpower, poor funding, inappropriate mix of materials and the greed as factors. He said this is the main reason why the company decided to empower the block makers by giving them relevant tools.

In his remarks, the SON representative, Engineer Ali Olayinka, commended Dangote Cement for the initiative, which he wants to be extended to other industry players. The company has a target of training at least 9,000 block makers across the country this year.