Barriers to the Domestication and Implementation of the Nigerian National Building Code in Yobe State

Abstract

The Nigerian Nation Building Code (NBC) provides essential technical standards for safe construction, aiming to ensure structural integrity, public welfare, and sustainability; it is designed for domestication into state laws. This study investigates the extent of domestication, implementation, and compliance with the NBC in Yobe State using a mixed-methods approach. A purposive, maximum variation sampling technique was employed to engage 420 stakeholders – including developers, contractors, clients, construction professionals, and royal fathers - alongside an assessment of 300 randomly selected building projects. Field investigations reveal that the NBC has not yet been domesticated in Yobe State. Data on seven identified barriers to the domestication of the NBC showed excellent overall reliability (α = 0.942), and based on their Relative Importance Index (RII), the barriers were ranked in descending order of criticality as: Poor Awareness and Technical Knowledge; Overlapping and Fragmented Jurisdictions; High Cost of Compliance; Dominance of the Informal Sector; Weak Institutional Capacity; Legal and Constitutional Constraints; and Political Inertia and Resistance to Regulations. Furthermore, ten core NBC areas were analyzed for compliance. Analysis using Chi-Square test shows a significant difference in compliance between public (76.18%) and private (23.20%) building projects. The study indicts the Yobe State Government for prioritizing safety on public projects while neglecting private sector safety standards. Recommendations include, among others, the full domestication of the NBC and the establishment of a dedicated Building Control Agency that is independent of other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state.