By Francis Etuko
Abuja (Precise Post) – The Surveyor General of the Federation, Surveyor Samuel Adeniran Taiwo has reminded surveyors and professionals in the build industry that they owe country and humanity in general the onerous task of combining efforts to build an enviable society of sustainable development.
Taiwo gave the charge at the 2021 fellowship Investiture Ceremony organized in Abuja by the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, (NIS).
The Ceremony witnessed the investiture of 24 new fellows of the institution to complement the existing 392 fellows who have been on the institutions list.
In a speech made available to newsmen, Surv. Adeniran Taiwo who made the list of 24 new fellows said the “Essence of the fellowship award is to promote excellence and continue to support the board towards encouraging quality.
Adeniran in the statement stressed thus “For me the Fellows Investiture Ceremony is not only timely, but a bold and patriotic call to surveyors in the country to redouble efforts in the Nigerian project”.
The Body remains one of the oldest and foremost professional bodies that has tremendously been contributing to national development” “We are obligated to contribute our quota in order to better the general conditions of living of the society”.
According to Adeniran “There can be no better time than now for the Nigerian society to appreciate the place of surveying and mapping in our national and strategic planning”. “It will not be wrong to state that for many years, due attention has not been given to the critical role of the surveyors”.
“I wish to point out the need for heads of various MDA’s, policy makers and those of strategic organization’s appreciate the fact that no country can genuinely achieve sustainable development without surveying and mapping”.
“This is why I have continually emphasized the relevance of geospatial information in Decision-making for national planning and implementation, especially public policies and programmes of action in our undertakings”.
“Hence the use of geospatial data is fundamental to national planning and every physical development, OSGoF has since taken the frontline in clamoring for the use of data in our national planning implementation”.
In his comments at the occasion, the President of the Nigerian Institution of surveyors, Surv. Alabo Charlesye David Charles, while speaking on a sub theme: ‘The Surveyor and Their Roles In Nation Building” said “Surveyors have always played important roles in national development”.
“We set the information foundation that has integrity; that is reliable and can be used for socio-economic planning; land use planning, fiscal and other national development policy”.
“The foundation is built on the concept that land is the source of all material wealth and from it we get all the things that we use as of value, it is the key to our existence and its distribution and use is of vital importance’’.
“Surveyors play an integral role in land development, from the planning and design of land through to the final construction of infrastructure including roads, railways and utilities and even landscaping” “We are the first professional on any construction site, measuring and mapping the land and the last to leave the As Built’.
The first investiture ceremony of the NIS held in 1966, where 14 fellows were inducted, but the institution came into limelight in 1934, under the late nationalist, Herbert Macaulay, then it was known as the Licensed Surveyors Association.
In 1960 the name was changed to the Land Surveyors Association of Nigeria with late Surveyor C.T Olumide as chairman.
The 2021 Investiture ceremony, witnessed the induction of four honorary members as fellows of the institution, they are The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; The Governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Former Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen Mansur Dan-Ali and the Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril.
