Mabogunje, others emphasise importance of GIS for effective planning

FOR effective planning and smooth land administration to be achieved, it has become imperative for every state in Nigeria to adopt Geographic Information System (GIS), experts have advised.

One of such who expressed  this view was the renown professor of Geography, Akin Mabogunje, who is the first professor in that field of knowledge in Nigeria and other eminent experts.

To them, adoption of this technology will not only ease land transactions but also promote physical planning activities.

The place of discussion was at the GIS Academy forum, held in Ibadan, Oyo State, where another eminent scholar Professor Olanike Adeyemo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Mr. Tolu Afolayan, the Chief Executive Officer, GIS Konsult Limited, all shared Mabogunje’s view on the imperatives of GIS.

They were of the conviction that every state government must increase the training and capacity of their staff across ministries, departments and agencies to adopt the peculiarities of GIS to their operations.

“The relevance of GIS to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), cannot be over emphasised. Therefore, it is high time for government at different levels to upgrade their operations to meet with modern demands”.

Professor Mabogunje, in his remarks, noted that people must be tied to their cities or localities rather than just floating, such that government can have adequate information for planning purposes.

Stating that “GIS helped in tracking down people with communicable diseases, among other advantages, therefore the nation would continue to be left behind if it did not adopt GIS for its sustainable development,” he predicted.

In his presentation, Afolayan said awareness of Nigerians about GIS was increasing going by its infusion in the curriculum of senior secondary schools, which he said provided hope of a more organised planning in the country.

Meanwhile, Adeyemo, in her remarks, emphasized the need for students in secondary schools and universities to adapt GIS to solving real-life problems.

“Research is important to the development and if conceptualized in the right way, it should be solving societal problems. The government should be looking at the gaps. There is a gap between researchers and the government and the industry. We must be able to interact with the populace and not be a standalone. It is applicable to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and gives room for cross-fertilisation of ideas,” Adeyemo said.