A professor of Structural and Material Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Samson Odeyemi, has called on the federal government to introduce policies requiring construction projects in Nigeria to incorporate a minimum percentage of recycled or sustainable materials.
Odeyemi made the call when he delivered the university’s 22nd Inaugural Lecture, titled “From Rubble to Resilience: Gathering the Fragments for a New Structural Paradigm.”
He explained that such a policy would lay the foundation for a new era of building construction in Nigeria, where structures are designed for greater strength, resilience, and environmental sustainability.
The university don identified agricultural waste products such as rice husk ash, corn cob ash, sugarcane bagasse ash and palm oil fuel ash as valuable industrial resources that can be transformed into high-performance engineering materials.
While noting that these materials are not primary binders, he stressed that they possess pozzolanic properties that react during cement hydration to produce additional strength-enhancing compounds.
He emphasised the need for Nigeria to reduce its overreliance on conventional cement by embracing a circular economy that promotes the use of locally sourced waste materials in construction.
Odeyemi added that supportive legislative frameworks and industry policies would encourage the integration of these materials into building projects, reduce environmental pollution, and lower construction costs.
He explained that research has demonstrated that concrete produced with agricultural waste-derived materials can meet and even exceed conventional technical standards while providing a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative for infrastructure development.
As evidence of the practical application of the research, the inaugural lecturer pointed to the interlocking paving stones at the entrance of the KWASU Faculty of Engineering, which were produced using rice husk ash and locally sourced fibres, demonstrating that the innovation has moved beyond the laboratory into real-world application.
He further described Nigeria’s construction industry as one in which standards are often influenced by market forces, emphasising the need to protect the sector from excessive reliance on imported construction materials and the environmental impact of carbon-intensive cement production.
To reduce incidents of building collapse caused by substandard and unregulated construction practices, Odeyemi recommended that government agencies, such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), ensure that only certified materials reach the market.
