Naomi Gabriel —

The Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Oyo State branch, Surveyor Waheed Lamidi yesterday in an event organised to mark the 2023 Global Surveyors’ Day in Ibadan the state capital, called on Nigerians to cease patronizing quacks in order to tackle the menace of land grabbing.

The Global Surveyors’ Day celebration which started in 2018, takes place annually on March 21, to celebrate the impacts of surveyors globally and to bring to the front burner developmental issues underpinned by the profession.

Lamidi said that the NIS had put in measures to fight quackery while advising the general public to always engage the services of qualified surveyors.

He said that all registered surveyors had unique membership practicing numbers which distinguish one genuine surveyor from another.

Lamidi urged citizens to always verify with registered surveyors whenever they want to do anything partaining to land.

“We want people to be aware of the importance of carrying out a genuine survey on their land because without survey, there is no way government can plan well for the citizens.

“Members of the public should be watchful such that they will not patronise quacks, anybody that is not license by the Surveyors’ Council of Nigeria is a quack in the profession,” he said.

Lamidi appealed to the traditional rulers who oversee lands in their various domain in the state to cooperate, collaborate and patronise only registered surveyors to drastically reduce the issues of land grabbing.

He advised the members of the NIS both in public and private practice in the state to embrace its ethics in order
to protect the good image of the profession.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Association of the Private Practicing Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), Oyo State, Surveyor Olatunji Egberinde, said that surveying remains the bedrock of meaningful development of any nation.

“Citizens could only ascertain that a land is free from government acquisition, ascertain the size of the land and carry out a survey plan that has record copy by engaging the services of genuine surveyors,” Egberinde said.

He also enjoined surveyors to upgrade themselves with modern tools in line with evolving technology and innovations so as to be able to deliver a globally acceptable services.

Earlier, the Oyo State Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban development, Mr Emmanuel Olayiwola, said that the Surveyors’ Day calls for reflection on performance especially in the area of overall development of the state.

Olayiwola who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Mofoluwake Adeniyi, said that surveyors remain strong pillars in the national development due to the relevance of the Geographic Information System (GIS) in all sectors of the nation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured the inauguration of the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) that enables surveyors to differentially correct static Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements at NIS State Secretariat, Ibadan, road shows and lectures.