The National Chairman of the Association of Private Practicing Surveyors of Nigeria, Surveyor Thomas Dabiri has disclosed that Surveyors in Nigeria were capable of assisting other agencies in the country to combat crime of all sorts nationally if given the opportunity.

The Chairman disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists during the 4th Quarterly Delegate meeting of the Association held in Abeokuta.

Dabiri noted that survey jobs in the recent times has gone beyond cutting 50 by 100 land or cadastral survey otherwise known as perimeter survey with the shift from analog means of carrying out their jobs to digital.

He said technology has made things easy for surveyors to engage in lots of other activities that could help combat crime, track vehicular movement, identify fields where cultivation of illicit narcotic drugs were planted among others.

“Without sending your men to bush to go and find locations of Indian Hemps, we can use Drone or Satellite Imagery to get what you want. With Drone, no need of road blocks.

“With Survey Inputs, if Surveyors are put on the highways, our job is not just to cut 50 by 100 for you, we can manage highway for you even in the comfort of our Portal Cabin with all gadgets, real time location of vehicles can be made” he said.

According to Dabiri, problems of unemployment could be tackled in the country when all potentials embedded in all the professional bodies are harnessed.

While decrying the challenges facing the profession in the area of importing working tools into the country, the Chairman solicited the support of the government in giving waivers for importation of survey equipment.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Association in the State, Surveyor Kayode Adekoya, said that the mode of operations in surveying has transformed tremendously in the state especially with digitization of their activities for the betterment of the Citizens, Surveyors and Government.

He added that the Surveyors in the State had prepared for such a transformation, especially from manual work to digital equipment, as many of the Surveyors in the state had acquired modern gadgets to ease their works.

He said that the execution of the Geoid computation and framework of the entire state, also, the installation and operation of a Continuous Operating Reference System (CORS) stations network in the State has made survey work easier.

“In fact, we have assisted our members in acquiring digital equipment in order not to be left in the modern age of working tools, and all Private Practicing Surveyors in the State have modern equipment, so, there will no need of over stressing ourselves in delivery of our work to the clients”,  Adekoya said.