Ozekhome Urges Estate Surveyors to Shun Corrupt Practices

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Human rights activist and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has advised members of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to shun corrupt practices in delivering their job to the society.

Ozekhome warned that just like other professions, NIESV can be liable to legal actions if found culpable in doing their job.

The SAN gave the advice yesterday in his keynote speech at the 52nd annual conference of the institution with the theme: ‘Cities of the Future: Development, Infrastructure and Sustainability’.

In his over 70 page-paper presentation, Ozekhome said: “The problem of corruption can be seen in your organisation like it is in any other organisation.

“When you are doing your job, you are not immune to being sued, and your defense is not going to be that ‘I just valued the land’. Planning that has been given to you to estimate without a corresponding professional advice can lead to your personal culpability as an individual and a company.

“You can never be excluded from negligence. You will be held liable in an offence related to your profession. Even under the Advance Fee Fraud Act, the criminal code, there are areas where you would be held liable for malfeasance and bridge of trust.”

He recommended that NIESV must thrive hard to champion the cause of creating awareness on their core competency areas to make the profession different from others.

Ozekhome added: “You must ensure that building and managing our cities is put in the forefront. You must ensure that there is training and retraining of your members and people who work with you.

“Look at the ways you can make big cities-our future cities-to promote urban agriculture. Over 800 million people worldwide practice urban agriculture.”

Earlier in his address, the President of NIESV, Sir Emma Okas Wike, listed the failure to plan the city growth or failure to adhere to prescriptions and regulations, as one of the major drawbacks causing malfunctioning cities in Africa.

Wike also listed the refusal to pay close attention to land use management as prescribed in the city plan as another major cause.

He said: “Depending on how they are planned, managed and financed, cities play multi-faced roles in all societies. Cities are drivers of economic growth and at the same time, the breeding grounds of poverty, environmental hazards and communicable diseases among other ills.”