The Surveyor General of the Federation, Mr. Taiwo Adeniran, has described as a huge waste of resources the idea of many government agencies and parastatals engaging in one form of geo-spatial mapping of the environment or the other.
Adeniran, who featured on Arise Television Morning Show programme yesterday, said that many people are not aware of what geo-spatial information is all about or what it can be used for.
He said such lack of awareness led to the decision of the organisation to partner with several government agencies in order to create the needed awareness and to also seek collaboration with other stakeholders.
In terms of relevance, he said that geo-spatial information comes first among the key criteria for good governance.
Speaking on the key functions of his office and how it overlaps with other agencies, Adeniran said that one major responsibility of the Surveyor’s Office is that of ensuring adequate and error-proof mapping of the country.
According to him, some other agencies and organisations in the country have also engaged in mapping for geo-spatial information which sometimes results in duplication of efforts.
“These are part of the problems we are having and we are all government institutions. There are several mapping activities going on in the country. I have been talking to the Chairman of the House committee overseeing our office and we have complained that everyone cannot be doing mapping. Apart from that everybody doesn’t have the expertise,” he said.
Adeniran said that the Office of the Surveyor General is mandated by law to provide spatial information for all sectors, adding that a situation whereby other agencies engage in mapping activities amounts to duplication of functions and wastage of scarce resources.
While commenting on the effort to ensure comprehensive mapping of the country, especially the border lines, Adeniran said that the office has a very important role play in the economic development of the country but, lack of funds was limiting its impact.
He said: “We need about 205 of the active satellite stations deployed around the country to actually have the kind of infrastructure for mapping of Nigeria. This will remove all manner of errors and all kinds of difficulties in the mapping of an environment. If we have to deploy that kind of infrastructure, we will need a lot of money.”
Adeniran said that due to paucity of funds, his office is considering a partnership deal with the equipment manufacturers where they will bring their wares for a part payment and we now deploy them for commercial operations.
He said that operations of such satellite stations will not need disruptions of public bureaucracies because they will be required to run 24 hours non stop just like the base stations of the mobile phone network providers.
Speaking on the strategic importance of mapping of the environment, Adeniran said: “It will be difficult for the country to attain the set targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without appropriate geo-spatial information.”
According to him, such geo-spatial data will assist government in taking critical decisions that will boost development.