The Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) has called for new mapping of the country, to address insecurity.
NIS President, Dr Matthew Ibitoye, made the call at the 4th NIS Lasis Ali Memorial Lecture, on Tuesday in Ibadan.
Ibitoye said that the maps in the country were done since 1965 and were obsolete, and could not meet the present realities.
He urged the Federal Government to collaborate with NIS to carry out new mapping of the country as the step would help the security agents to tackle insecurity.
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Ibitoye said that urgent action must be taken to produce new maps with modern technology for the country to win the war against insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes.
“The best mapped country is the best developed country. We have been advocating that Nigeria should be mapped with latest technology for long.
“The map we are using in Nigeria was produce in 1965 when many of us had not been born. This means we are giving wrong data to the people, and our communities are expanding every day.
“We have what it takes as professionals to track some of these insurgents. The technology in the surveying profession has gone beyond using old physical approach to curb banditry.
“We are ready to partner with government in the war against insurgency,” he said.
The NIS president decried the lack of interest in surveying by prospecting students in Nigeria, saying graduates were not interested in being lecturers in surveying departments of Nigeria universities because of poor remuneration.
“We have more than 10 universities offering surveying apart from polytechnics in states within South-West, Nigeria, but some of them don’t have more than two to four lecturers in the whole department.
“We are working to see that we encourage our surveyors, especially those with higher academic qualifications, to go into lecturing, so that we can produce more qualified surveyors for the country,” he said.
The Guest Lecturer at the event, Mr Lanre Agoro, urged surveyors to sensitise the public to dangers inherent in the outright sale of their landed properties.
Agoro, a legal practitioner, added that surveyors in countries such as France and other developed nations, always encouraged leasing of properties for economic development and to secure future for the unborn generations.
Speaking on the theme: “Empowering the Nigerian Economy: Grassroots Solutions to Counter Naira Devaluation”, he urged government to deploy strong political will in controlling trade deficit, monetary policies and inflation to boost the nation’s economy.
Agoro decried high taste for imported products at the detriment of locally produced products by Nigerians, saying it had contributed to the devaluation of the Naira.
Earlier, the NIS Chairman in Oyo, Waheed Lamidi, urged citizens to avoid accepting back-dated survey plans from quacks in the surveying profession.
Lamidi said that the qualified members of NIS could be recognised through their unique registration number and seal.
He said that the lecture was organised in honour of an icon, Lasis Ali, who distinguished himself as one of the past fellows of NIS and president, who upheld high ethical standards of the profession.
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