As the Federal Government renewed focus on the potential of the blue economy, the International Real Estate Federation, Nigeria chapter, has encouraged its members to take advantage of the opportunities that the sector offers for professionals in the real estate sector.
The keynote speaker, former special adviser to the former Director-General of NIMASA on Communication and Strategy, Ubong Essien, led the charge at the 2025 general meeting of the association, which also attracted the induction of new members and a lecture titled “The blue economy revolution: emerging opportunities for real estate players” in Lagos recently.
He said, “Globally, the blue economy is worth an estimated $1.5 tn, while Nigeria is well positioned to capture about 10 per cent of it with the amount of water ecosystem spread across major states. 70 to 80 per cent of world trade happens on the ocean, hence the need to tap the potential to make money that will trickle down to benefit all Nigerians.”
Essien noted that there existed about ten buckets of blue economic opportunities, which real estate practitioners can explore.
These, he said, include blue cities/estates, blue commerce, blue climate, blue capital, blue talents, blue governance, blue power in the area of renewable energy, and others.
He urged, “Estate surveyors and valuers as well as other experts in the real estate ecosystem should explore the emerging blue economy for economic growth, improved livelihood, creating jobs, and preserving the earth and ocean ecosystem by arresting issues of pollution.”
Essien, who is also the founder of Blue Economy Academy, challenged FIABCI members to go beyond advocacy to government and actively engage with authorities through policy implementation with regards to tapping the potential of the blue economy.
Meanwhile, the FIABCI President-Nigeria Chapter, Akin Opatola, charged the 15 newly inducted members to uphold the core values of transparency and impeccable character in the discharge of professional practice.
He encouraged them to be professional in their transactions, stressing that with its 52 years of existence, the Nigeria chapter of the association pays particular attention to the kind of people it admits as members.
“The screening is often rigorous to become an FIABCI member, and so the inductees should consider themselves lucky. They need to guide their membership and uphold the core values of collaboration, sincerity, transparency, and hard work at the core of their practice. People should be able to see them and say, I like the way you operate by showing leadership traits,” he said.
Opatola said based on the reality that FIABCI stands for innovation, the theme on the blue economy was picked to examine what the blue economy really means and what opportunities it offers for real estate players and diverse members of FIABCI.
“As real estate players, we believe that we can think about the economy in line with the focus of the government in achieving the $1 $1trn economy it tries to achieve. I am also soliciting the support of members towards the successful hosting of FIABCI’s 75th World Real Estate Congress in Nigeria later in June this year,” he said.
Inducting the new members through the oath of allegiance, President FIABCI-Africa and Near East, Adeniji Adele, appealed to the members to abide by the mission statement of the association and stand tall in their professional journey.
He encouraged them to make use of FIABCI standards and ethics while practicing locally and internationally.
Adele emphasised, “FIABCI believes in innovation, integrity, and impeccable character as cross-border transactions appeal to the association, adding that the level of integrity and behaviour matters as members of the international organisation in the real estate sector.”
