Members of the Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), have been charged to embrace technology, mentorship and continuous professional development so as to build surveying firms capable of outliving their founders.
Chairman of the Association in Lagos State, Afolabi Olaoluwa Oyelayo, gave the charge on Wednesday at the association’s annual Professional Workshop and Luncheon in Oregun, Lagos, with the theme, “Building a Lasting Surveying Empire: Growth and Longevity.”
In his welcome address, Oyelayo said the theme was designed to promote endurance, influence, trust and professional excellence in private surveying practice, stressing that lasting firms must be built on precision in service, investment in people and a clear sense of purpose.
According to him, accuracy remains one of the most important values in surveying, warning practitioners against compromising professional standards in pursuit of quick financial gains.
“Our craft is the art of measurement. We define boundaries as surveyors. We map the unseen. We provide the data that decides the fate of cities, bridges and industries,” he said.
L-R: Surv. Kunle Ogunbadewa, Deputy President NIS, Surv. Afolabi O. Olaoluwa, Chairman APPSN Lagos State Branch, Surv. (Chief) Adedeji O. Olanrewaju, Chairman NIS Lagos State Branch, Surv. Vincent Olumide Adewebi, Guest Speaker during the Annual Professional Workshop & Launcheon held in Lagos
While speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the workshop, Oyelayo identified the desire among some young surveyors to achieve quick wealth as one of the major challenges confronting the profession.
He urged young practitioners to understand that professional success requires patience, training, mentorship and the deliberate cultivation of relationships with clients.
“The quest to get rich suddenly is the prevalent problem that is rampant among the youth these days. Everything has to go through a process, the training, the mentorship, and then the client relationship. That is what is going to elevate you to the status you are dreaming to become later,” he said.
On technological advancement, the APPSN chairman urged surveyors to embrace artificial intelligence, drones and other modern geospatial technologies, while stressing the need for practitioners to acquire the skills required to use them effectively.
He said technology should be regarded as a tool for improving efficiency rather than a substitute for professional competence.
“AI is not increasing the accuracy of the job. It lessens the time of production and increases the speed of production of your job. You need to learn, train and retrain, and then be able to level up with the technology,” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Geosis Nigeria Limited and former Secretary-General of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Olumide Vincent Adewobi, said technology would not replace surveyors but would increasingly separate professionals willing to innovate from those who refused to adapt.
According to him, surveyors themselves could become victims of technological disruption if they failed to take ownership of emerging tools and their application to the profession.
“What is going to replace surveyors is surveyors themselves,” Adewobi said, explaining that professionals who effectively deployed technology would have an advantage over those who resisted it.
He described technology as an “amplifier” of professional competence, warning that firms with poor internal systems could equally have their weaknesses magnified by technology.
“Technology acts as an amplifier. It magnifies your competence. And if you have terrible internal systems in your office, it will simply magnify your incompetence at an even faster rate,” he said.
Adewobi also challenged surveying firms to invest more in human capital, noting that practitioners often prioritise the acquisition of sophisticated equipment while neglecting the training of the people expected to operate them.
“Equipment depreciates. Knowledge appreciates,” he said.
He urged firms to go beyond technical training by developing their employees in leadership, client management, communication, financial literacy and negotiation.