Surveyors task FG on usage of drones for mapping, others

Built environment practitioners under the auspices of the Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN) have called on the Federal Government to allow members access to importation of drones for mapping and other developmental purposes in the country.

Speaking at the sideline of the 2022 Annual Workshop and Luncheon of the group, National Chairman, APPSN, Mr Thomas Dabiri, urged the Federal Government to give room for surveyors to have access to import drones for mapping jobs under the supervision of the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON).

Dabiri stated that as at present, approval process for the importation and usage of drones is domiciled in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President Mohamed Buhari on Security.

This, he said came with a lot of bureaucracies, appealing to the Federal Government to allow surveyors’ regulatory body handles the process for members of the profession.

According to him, there has been strict restriction on the use of drones due to insecurity in the country, adding that to get approval to import and deploy the technology for mapping has been a herculean task for surveyors.

He said “The problem of drones is all about insecurity. Government is trying to regulate the usage of drones. And that’s why to get license to import and use drones for mapping is highly restricted.

“We are working on it. When it comes to specific project, the drone’s usage and all other things will come to play. We need to work hard so that we can have access to it for mapping because it’s very cheap. You can fly at any altitude and get your results.”

“Our profession has a lot of diversity in the use of equipment. Gone are the days when people used to fly plane for mapping. There was nothing like goggle map and the rest, but I think the strict restriction on drone usage is too hard. We’re appealing to government to see the need to relax some of the restrictions.

Lack of access to drones, he said has made it difficult to monitor flood, forest, ocean, crime and the rest in the country,” he said.

The theme of the workshop is:  “Surveying Safely; Health & Wellbeing of a Surveyor.”

Justify the essence of the workshop, Chairman, APPSN, Lagos State, Mr  I.G.R. Adaranijo, said it was characterised by plenty of knowledge enhancing activities such as health talks, technical and business sessions.

Major highlight of the workshop was the launching of mobile app, presentation of a robust Survey management system web application for surveyors and the presentation of 2022 newly registered surveyors to the audience.

Lecturer at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr Okezie Obasi Kanu, who doubles as quest speakers, gave health tips on how surveyors can take care of their brain health, breast, blood, bladder, bones and bowels, among others.

According to him, issues of wellbeing of professionals couldn’t be over-emphasised.

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