The Chairman of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, Dosu Fatokun, has inducted 700 new members with the charge to drive quality in the property sector.
He also encouraged its members to focus on the upstream segment of the sector’s property development, which has not received sufficient attention from the profession.
These include the supply of various real estate commodities, such as the development of housing estates, commercial office buildings, malls, modern markets, and recreational and leisure complexes.
The board chairman gave the advice at the 48th induction ceremony of newly registered estate surveyors and valuers held recently in Abuja.
He said, “It is with great pleasure and a deep sense of responsibility that I stand before you today as the 16th Chairman of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria to welcome you to the 48th induction ceremony of newly registered estate surveyors and valuers. This ceremony marks a significant milestone in the professional journey of 700 dedicated estate surveyors who have worked tirelessly to attain the esteemed recognition as registered estate surveyors and valuers.
He said the induction ceremony is one of the key functions of the Board, as enshrined in Section 2 of the ESVARBON Act.
He said, “It is the crowning of your journey towards professional recognition, and it signifies your commitment to upholding the highest standards of practice in our noble profession.
“For those interested in practising, the event of today indeed confers the unique privilege to render your services legally; if you had been rendering such services before today’s induction, you would have been practising as a quack.”
He also charged the inductees to be abreast of key trends in the property sector to drive growth and quality through continuous professional training.
“Also, there is a need for self-development through the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development programme, as well as staying abreast of best practices and emerging trends in our field, which is crucial for maintaining the excellence that our profession demands.”
Regarding the practice of the profession, Dosu highlighted the observed structural deficiencies, with an excessive focus on valuation, agency, management, and other routine tasks.
He called for more participation in the rewarding and impactful task of large-scale real estate development amongst members to improve the sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
He concluded, “I should sensitise you to the observed deficient structure of the current practice of estate surveying and valuation in the country. It is usual to classify activities in the oil industry into upstream and downstream; the former involves exploration and refining, while the latter deals with the retailing of the petroleum products, such as PMS, DPK, etc. The services of the estate surveyors can similarly be categorised into upstream and downstream groups. The preponderance of the current services rendered by estate surveyors in the country is observed to be in the downstream sector of the profession involving valuation, agency, management and other routine duties.
“A major upstream activity of the profession is property development, which has not been appreciated enough by the profession. This involves the supply of diverse real estate commodities such as the development of housing estates, commercial office blocks, malls, modern markets, and recreational and leisure complexes. These upstream development activities are more rewarding and impactful, making the profession more relevant in terms of contributing to the GDP and more basic needs of the nation. As you are all young and vibrant with the whole world in your hands and indeed the ‘Gen Z’ of the profession, you are challenged to show decisive interest in this and other upstream activities of the profession.”
