Surveyors lament govt failure in providing adequate security

Surveyors, under the auspices of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, have called on the government to provide adequate security for their members who work on sites across the country.

The professional group lamented that governments both at the federal and the state level had failed in providing adequate security for surveyors doing site work.

The NIS President, Matthew Ibitoye, stated this at the 2025 NIS Board of Fellows investiture ceremony held in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Tuesday,

The Punch reports that some surveyors working on a site at Ilu-Abo in the Akure North Local Government Area of the state last month were kidnapped but later released. To this end, some government officials called on the NIS members to protect themselves with security agencies whenever they were going to sites for work.

Ibitoye slammed that it was very wrong for government officials to ask surveyors to go along with security officers when going to the farm.

According to him, clients were not charged with security charges, saying the services they were rendering were out of security and that security threats could occur anywhere, including homes.

He said, “It is very wrong for any government official to raise up such a thing that when a surveyor is going to the farm, he must go and raise security. Did we bill our client with security money? The services we are rendering are outside the security. We didn’t bill them for security.

“If we are to bill security into it, then the security architect has to pay, and definitely, the cost of surveying will be high. However, it is a clear signal that the government is not living up to expectations. You can’t expect an individual to start going to the police and hire policemen to go to work.

“It is not only the bush that we can have security threat. Even right away in your home, you have security threats.  Does it mean that the police must be in your home, in your gate? When you are going out, they must line up on the street? So, it is an example that the government is failing us.”

The NIS President president however advised that since the government had failed in providing adequate security, surveyors should put in adequate measure to ensure their safety before going on site.

He also urged his members to avoid going to sites alone and always carry out due diligence before going out.

“Before you even go out, try to do some underground work and see how safe the place is. Don’t go alone. Carry along the families that gave you work because they know the people living around them.

“In most cases, study the place very well. If they are expecting you in the afternoon,  you go very early in the morning. If they are expecting you in the morning, then you go later in the night when people are yet to come up. You can also make use of technology to carry out some jobs without necessarily visiting the site,” Ibitoye advised.

In his own remarks at the ceremony, the Chairman, NIS, Board of Fellows, Olusola Atilola, while welcoming the 39 newly admitted fellows admonished them to be of good conduct and enforce the constitution and code of ethics of the profession.

According to him, being a fellow of the profession posed an enormous duty to serve the institution and the society at large.

He charged, “Fellows are the conscience of the profession and custodians of her values and traditions. As leaders, you must provide purposeful leadershi and enforce the constitution and code of ethics of the profession. You must be an epitome of integrity, honour, transparency, fair play, and accountability in all your dealings.”

Source: Punch