Regulatory bodies and gatekeepers in Nigeria have been urged to take responsibility and tackle administrative and professional negligence in the country. The call was made during a roundtable organised by the United Action for Change (UAC) in Lagos. The event brought together professionals from the administrative sector, building industry, and legal sector to discuss the issue. The menace of administrative and professional negligence has led to loss of lives and discouraged many citizens from doing the right thing.
Deputy Registrar of Lagos State University (LASU), Ms Temitope Ladipo-Scott, decried the high level of administrative negligence in the country despite existing laws. She demanded that offenders should be penalised or jailed for violating established procedures. Ladipo-Scott noted that failure to follow rules had caused many deaths and demotivated others from standing by the truth. She urged citizens not to be deterred from doing the right thing, even when society does not acknowledge them.
Builder Mubarak Gbaja-Biamila, an expert in the built sector, said citizens' silence contributed to professional negligence and the rising incidence of building collapse. He urged Community Development Associations (CDAs) and residents to speak up when they notice wrong construction practices. Gbaja-Biamila advised professionals handling multi-storey buildings to engage qualified contractors when a project exceeded their capacity. He also warned against cost-cutting and listed recommendations to address professional negligence.
A lawyer, Asiwaju Dave Ajetunmobi, spoke on legal negligence and advised professionals who had reached a dead end to reach out to colleagues. He noted that a lawyer owes a client a duty of care in a lawyer-client relationship, but a lawyer consulted in a courtroom can claim he owes no duty to the person. Ajetunmobi identified other levels of professional negligence, including failure to correctly value a claim and making clients accept a lesser value.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Dr. Afolabi, emphasised the importance of professional responsibility, accountability, and effective service delivery in both public and private institutions. He said the discussions focused broadly on administrative negligence, professional negligence, negligence in the construction sector, and legal negligence, with practical examples drawn from Nigerian institutions and professional practice.
The roundtable event, themed "Professional Negligence: Responsibilities, Consequences and the Need for Accountability," aimed to address the issue of professional negligence in Nigeria. The event brought together stakeholders to discuss the causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem. Participants were urged to take a stand against professional negligence and ensure that regulatory bodies and gatekeepers discharge their duties accordingly.
The issue of professional negligence in Nigeria has led to significant consequences, including loss of lives and damage to property. The construction sector has been particularly affected, with cases of building collapse becoming increasingly common. Experts have called for community vigilance, sanctions, and continuous professional development to address the issue. The government and regulatory bodies have been urged to take a more proactive role in tackling professional negligence.
Key points
- Regulatory bodies and gatekeepers must discharge their duties in line with extant rules and regulations to tackle administrative and professional negligence in Nigeria.
- Citizens must speak up against wrong construction practices and report cases of professional negligence to regulatory bodies.
- Professionals must engage in continuous professional development and take responsibility for their actions to avoid cases of professional negligence.
