Morrison Ojobor @ojomorris

a rather unconventional move, a yet-to-be-identified man in Ụmụdiala village, Ezinifite, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, has taken a unique approach to construction by using bamboos in place of irons, to cast the decks and pillars for his two-storey building. The builder has gone against the conventional style, shunning traditional materials such as iron, in favour of bamboo in the ongoing construction.

A concerned resident of the area, Chief CKC Obiekwe, drew the attention of this reporter to the bizarre construction through a video currently trending on the social media — a testament that the first-of-its-kind bamboo-based construction in the area has gone viral online.

The video shows that while bamboos had been used in place of irons to cast pillars and lintels of the ground floor of the two-storey building, some portions of the first deck have also been cast with bamboos in place of irons, while the remaining portions of the deck and pillars for the second deck are also already constructed with bamboos, waiting to be cast with concrete.

Commentator on the viral video also revealed that this was not the first time the builder had employed such a method in the construction of his house. He is said to have previously constructed similar bamboo-reinforced buildings in Abuja and Lagos before bringing it down to his hometown.

Although sources described the builder as a wealthy man, this reporter, Izunna Okafor, could not reach him to confirm the prime motivation and reason behind the bamboo-centric construction. Some locals, however, quoted him as saying that using irons to construct house is not only expensive, but also a waste of money, given the present-day economic realities in Nigeria.

Howbeit, while some applaud the man's ingenuity and thriftiness, others express concerns about the long-term structural integrity of a bamboo-reinforced building, describing it as a death trap and a very risky adventure.

Reacting another resident of the area who pleaded anonymity said, “With this unconventional approach to construction now in the spotlight, it calls for attention from the relevant agencies to ensure that the buildings comply with the standard building codes.

“This oversight is critical to avoid any occurrence of building collapse, which could lead to another unnecessary waste of innocent lives, because the builder himself may not even be there when the building will collapse.

“The safety and structural integrity of such construction methods should be a top priority for all stakeholders in the building industry, especially given the high rate building collapse in the society today.”
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