Surveying bodies must unify – NIQS president

Mr. Alufohai made this call at the 44th Annual General Meeting/Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Nigerian Group, at the Ikeja Sheraton Hotel, Lagos. The NIQS President said that the changing times calls for new strategies and emphasized the need for the various surveying institutes operating in the country […]

Mr. Alufohai made this call at the 44th Annual General Meeting/Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Nigerian Group, at the Ikeja Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.
The NIQS President said that the changing times calls for new strategies and emphasized the need for the various surveying institutes operating in the country to come together and form a dominant voice to advocate for the industry’s issues. According to Alufohai, “there is no arguing that significant differences exist between various disciplines of Surveying but as we recognize these differences, we must also consider the advantages of building bridges between our various Surveying disciplines for there is great wisdom in the saying that there is unity in strength.”
He added that acting together will promote the surveying practice, create a bigger voice on national economic issues about problems that directly impact on the practice and those that the surveyors are qualified to speak about by virtue of their training. In his words, “imagine if we succeed in creating a platform that develops a strong identity as the voice of Surveying in Nigeria, such a voice will be much louder and will command greater attention and respect when we speak on issues such as the evolving new national housing policy or cost and transparency issues in the design and administration of the Petroleum Subsidy Reinvestment Programme”.
Alufohai told the gathering that Surveyors “must find ways to do what branding experts call “positioning” which simply means that what we all do as different types of surveyors must have a single and powerful representation in the minds of Nigerians”.
Speaking on the issue, the Past Chairman, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Mr. Austin Onaro asked that the cause for the non-unification of the surveying bodies be identified first, if not the idea of a unified body may never come to pass. He urged other surveying bodies to come together to close the gap amongst surveyors.
 The Chairman, RICS Nigeria Group, Mr. Barin Epega commended Alufohai for his address and success in his practice. He urged younger Chartered Surveyors to emulate Alufohai by acting with the highest level of integrity towards building the country.