Nigeria to launch Africa’s first digital twin mapping with UN

By Ukpono Ukpong

The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGOF) has hinted on plans to carry out a groundbreaking digital twin mapping project, the first of its kind in Africa.

Surveyor General of the Federation (SGOF), Abduganiyu Adebomehin, made this revelation yesterday during a briefing with the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, in Abuja.

He disclosed that the initiative will utilize drone technology to create a precise digital representation of buildings and landscapes.

With the forthcoming digital twin mapping initiative, Adebomehin said that Nigeria is poised to take a leading role in geospatial data management in Africa, potentially transforming urban planning, infrastructure development, and environmental monitoring.

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“We want to carry out an assignment, which will be the first of its kind in Africa. We want to see if we can use a drone, carry out a survey, and we will have every building standing the way they are. They are called digital twin mapping,” Adebomehin stated.

While noting that the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation would be working with experts from the United Nations to execute the project, he said that the project had been delayed for almost eight or nine months due to continuous refinements.

“We are going to receive two or three expatriates from the United Nations. Because we don’t have the technical know-how to process it, even though we have the drone. So we wrote them for assistance. And they said they will be of assistance.

“We keep on reshaping and reshaping, and last week, we were happy that they gave their note that they will be here,” he said.

Speaking further, he also revealed that, with the presidency’s approval, his office would commence the mapping of a section of Abuja in the next three weeks, just as he added that the findings will be presented to the Permanent Secretary upon completion.

Highlighting the significance of surveying, Adebomehin pointed out its crucial role in sustainable development saying “Out of the 17 SDGs, 14 of the 17 directly refer to surveying. And that is why there is a body called UN-GGIM, United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management. They are the anchor of the SDG. And 14 of it speak to surveying directly,” he explained.

Furthermore, he mentioned the Africa Regional Institute for Science and Information, a specialized school focused on closing knowledge gaps in geospatial studies.

“The school, what they do is basically to close up the gaps, because it’s a specialized school, to close up the gap between what government on its own can provide and what is being practiced outside the shore of the country,” he said.

On achievements, Adebomehin emphasized OSGOF’s efforts in capacity building through collaboration with the United Nations.

“I always like to measure my achievement as far as the number of staff we have already been able to impact. To this, I would say we have been able, through our collaboration with the United Nations, to train over 100 staff online. We want to use them as focal points for the new drive of the office.

“We have provided government and the public with relevant products and alternatives through user requirement analysis and made appropriate policies that will be in consonance with the changing roles of surveying and mapping,” he stated.

Adebomehin listed some of OSGOF’s key achievements, including the creation and maintenance of a National Repository of Metadata for all trigonometrical, cadastral, topographical, hydrographic, and geodetic data in Nigeria.

He also mentioned the establishment of Survey Units in relevant federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and supporting them in mapping and geospatial information.

In response, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, commended OSGOF’s efforts and pledged the ministry’s support in securing a special intervention fund for the acquisition of satellite images, servers, and office space.

Belgore also requested a presentation of the Survey Coordination Act, Cap. 194 of 1962, in his office.

This legislation, he said, would help in formulating the necessary amendments and legal backing for the organization’s operations.