YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU:Â A program sponsored by sustainable design consult dedicated to enlighten listeners to know about the environment, the right of a citizen living in an environment, environmental hazards and things needed to be done to prevent hazards from happening.
On a new episode of the program, the host Comfort Omolafe with the sponsor of the program TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele Joseph will be putting questions to the chairman of Nigerian institute of surveyors(NIS) Ondo state chapter, Surveyor Mrs. Helen Fakorede on Quackery in surveying.
What step did Nigerian institute of surveyors take to deal with quackery in survey practice?
Surveyor Mrs Helen Fakorede said quackery is not peculiar to surveying alone, Quackery can be found in other profession. A quack is a person that profess a profession he or she doesn’t have a formal training in. Mrs Fakorede said Quack is unknown in surveying, There are technicians that work together with surveyors, these technicians serves as apprentice to surveyors but that does not make them surveyors. Surveying is a team work not a one man show, so people that work with the surveyors on site are called unskilled labor and there are skilled labor i.e people that are in training. These technicians working for or working under a registered surveyor can be called quacks when they profess to be a surveyor.
The guest pinpointed that a surveyor as defined by the law of Nigeria is somebody that is legally trained and registered by surveyors council of Nigeria. She said as a body of (NIS) they do not recognize quacks and the Nigerian institute of surveyors (NIS) work against quackery.
     Are there quacks among town planners?
TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele equally said there is no quacks in surveying by law but there are some (NIS) members that has technicians that they are training, Unskilled workers that works with them or under them for sometimes. He said these technicians tend to start their own firm, business, and running surveys for people, These technicians still find their way to their former boss who is a registered surveyor to sign for them. He continued by saying the registered surveyors signing for these technicians should be referred to as quacks because they opened wrong avenue for the wrong people to survey and doing this put a dent to the profession. TPL Ogunseyi also said that there are quacks in every profession.
Why are some registered NIS member training the technicians?
Surveyor, Mrs. Fakorede answered by saying no registered surveyor can give training to quacks. Surveying is a team work where there are skilled and unskilled labor helps the surveyors, These skilled and unskilled labor are seen as survey technicians but the moment they profess to be a surveyor, they become quacks. She said a registered surveyor will never patronize technicians who profess to be surveyors, It is only the members of the public that patronizes the quacks. The people do not know who is who so they just patronize them and this is what( NIS) has been trying to iron out i.e give sensitization to the people of the public on who a surveyor is and how to recognize a registered surveyor. For example, If you are giving a job to somebody and the person name is Mr. Ojo, The person giving job must ask question if the survey will bear the name of the surveyor and if the signature didn’t bear the name of the surveyor, it then mean the surveyor is not  a registered one or the person is a quack of the profession. The guest said the people have to stop patronizing the quacks in order to eradicate it.
Do you think Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS) has done enough sensitization to the people?
The guest said (NIS) have always been on air for over 17 years on a particular radio station in Ondo state. She said they have done enough and are still trying to put in more effort to sensitize people on issues related to quackery and other things they needed to know about surveying.
What is your take on technicians having offices of their own?
Surveyor, Mrs. Fakorede said by the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria People are free to do something to some extent. She continued by saying if one is not a registered surveyor by law, the Surveyor council of Nigeria may not have serious power over him/her but when he/she violate the law of the land like forging the signature of a surveyor, producing a fake survey plan, It then becomes a criminal case which the law will take its cause. She said there is no way the Nigerian institute of surveyors (NIS) can manage people or tell people not to have office of their own because they are not NIS members. The guest added that registered surveyors will never patronize fake surveyors because they know the implication of doing so.
What category can we put those trained through the ministry, be it working or retired in survey department? Can these sets of people be called quacks or technicians, Are they recognized as surveyors?
The guest Surveyor, Mrs. Fakorede said anyone can be working in survey department or working with a surveyor but that does not make him/her a surveyor. Even if the person go to survey school in Oyo, that still doesn’t make him or her a surveyor. The guest said categorically in Surveyors council of Nigeria there are technicians who are registered by Surveyors council of Nigeria, these are the people with National diploma(ND), There are technologist grade which are the people that have equivalent of (Hnd) and there are pupil surveyors which are the  people that are graduate surveyors with B.sc or Hnd with post graduate that are waiting to write the qualifying examination. She added that there are registered surveyors, these are the people who are recognized by law to carry out any survey. Surveying  is a team work, it need more than person for it to be effective and that is why the technicians, technologists, pupil surveyors are included, the mention people are the ones that gives support to the registered surveyors in carrying out their works but that does not make them surveyors. The mentioned people only work under the supervision of the registered surveyor.
A judgement was delivered in August 2022 by Justice Daniel Osagbo of which he said a surveyor general signing a survey plan is illegal. Is there any step that Nigerian institute of surveyors Ondo state chapter has taken?
The guest said before the judgment, the surveyor general approval being called counter- signature which have been abolished since 1974 but over the years they overlooked it because the government is getting revenue from it. Some states which include Ondo state have been doing surveyor general’s approval i.e counter- signature, a situation whereby the survey being produced by a surveyor is being signed on by the surveyor general with a stamp which totally is illegal and it has been abrogated since 1974. The guest said they have been managing it with the government so as not to take away the revenue from the government, recently they went out with the cooperation of the office of the surveyor general in Ondo state to see what is happening in other states of the federation and with the directive of the surveyor council of Nigeria two months ago that it should cease to exist in Ondo state with effect starting from 1st of October, counter signature i.e sign on the survey produced by any surveyor by surveyor general cease to operate. She said this is done to affirm or ascertain if the survey is correct, that the survey is not within government acquisition, she also said the end product that they give to people matters, they have certificate of verification given from the office of the surveyor general. The certificate affirm that the survey is correct by every standard and it is signed by the surveyor general or whosoever he assigned the power to. All the revenue going to government that they are paying on the initial one will still be paid and for each of their surveys, people will get it on request the certificate of verification.
There are more properties within urban areas without survey plan, What is it implications to urban planning?
Surveyor,Mrs. Helen Fakorede said the implication is much on the part of the government. She said all the properties within the urban areas have not been surveyed and they can only assess the revenue that goes to the government in two ways; One is, the owners of the properties have to comply and must know that every property he/she has must have survey. The government on the part of the surveyor general must have something like a chartered system whereby in urban areas all buildings will be charted. At a goal for the planning purpose, the government will know how many properties are in Arakale.
Surveyor, Mrs. Fakorede advises the people of the public never to patronize quacks, she also added that every property must be documented. She said doing this will not only benefit the government that it will also benefit the people.
TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele, the sponsor of the program said Nigerian institute of surveyors have work in their hands. He said they need to fish out these quack hiding under the profession of surveyors as quickly as possible.