Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Olajide Babatunde, has advised surveyors to take active roles in politics and embrace modern technology to remain relevant in today’s world

Mr Babatunde spoke in Lagos at the Annual Workshop of the Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), Lagos State Branch, on Wednesday.

The workshop had the theme “Building the Resilient Surveyor: Integrating Legacy and Practice with Innovation and Corporate Excellence.”

He urged surveyors and town planners to begin to position themselves in government, particularly in the Houses of Assembly, where laws that affect the profession and urban development were made.

He said, “If you do not go into politics, how will you be represented? You must have members as governors, legislators, civil servants, practitioners, and lecturers.’’

Mr Babatunde also advised surveyors to combine classroom knowledge with field experience, the way medical doctors teach in hospitals while still practising.

He also urged lecturers in surveying to get more practical exposure from the field and practitioners to also share their knowledge in classrooms.

Speaking on technology, Mr Babatunde said that Lagos State was pursuing a smart city project that required the expertise of surveyors.

He urged the surveyors to key into global trends such as digitisation, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and instrumentation.

The governor’s aide said that AI poses both a challenge and an opportunity to the surveying profession, noting that with global digital mapping advancing fast, surveyors must adapt in order not to be left behind.

Mr Babatunde also stressed the importance of unity, calling on surveyors to work closely with the Lagos State government and their professional bodies, including the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS).

Also, the keynote speaker at the workshop, Oluwaseyi Mapaderun, called on surveyors to combine traditional practices with innovation and corporate excellence to meet the demands of a fast-growing Lagos.

He urged the professionals to reposition themselves to address the realities of rapid urbanisation.

Mr Mapaderun said that Lagos State, as Nigeria’s commercial hub, was faced with complex land and planning challenges, including informal settlements, overlapping land titles, flooding, and infrastructure expansion.

According to him, legacy practices give us a solid foundation, but we cannot solve present-day Lagos issues with outdated methods alone.

He stated, “Surveyors must adopt modern tools like GIS mapping, drones, and digital data management while still upholding ethics and precision.’’

Mr Mapaderun further said that private practising surveyors play a critical role in guiding government and developers toward orderly growth, transport planning, and flood control.

“If we blend innovation with our traditional values of accuracy and integrity, we will not only protect our professional relevance but also improve the ease of doing business in Lagos,” Mr Mapaderun added.

Earlier, the Chairman of the APPSN, Afolabi Olaoluwa, said that one of the key aims of the APPSN was to support members to improve their professional practice.

He said that the theme for this year’s workshop was carefully chosen to reflect the needs of the profession in today’s world.

According to him, surveying has always been rooted in precision, discipline, and service to society.

“From defining land boundaries to enabling infrastructure development, surveyors have been custodians of spatial accuracy and economic order,” he said.

He noted, however, that the 21st century demanded resilience from surveyors, who must now adapt to rapid technological change, market volatility, climate challenges, and evolving client needs.

Mr Olaoluwa said that resilience lay in balancing the profession’s legacy as a foundation, keeping practice relevant in a changing world, embracing innovation as a driver of growth, and upholding corporate excellence and professionalism.

(NAN)