Paramount to the modern state or a country are defence and security; welfare and socioeconomic sustenance; and the guarantee of foreign interactions which the government cannot afford to relinquish. The government makes and enforces relevant laws for orderliness and ensures leadership that is accountable.
The functions of the Federal Government are basically the maintenance of law and order, protection of lives and property, provision of welfare services, promotion of economic development, promotion of democracy and social order, protection of human rights, maintenance of external relations, and creation of job/employment opportunities.
The consistent successful performance of these functions meant to increase values in the lives of Nigerians is a priority, and so several establishments are birthed with various mandates to carry out these functions. However, these mandates often remain expressed on documents rather than being translated into concrete terms; and this is due to administrative sloppiness engendered by poor institutional arrangements. This administrative untidiness in our democratic structure has called for various reforms over the years.
One of the establishments that deserve the focused attention of President Bola Tinubu is the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation considering its centrality and relevance to national security, administration and governance in a broad spectrum. The OSGoF is Nigeria’s apex surveying and mapping agency. The world over, and especially in the well developed countries, their surveying and mapping agencies remain the bride of government and booster behind the affluence of a country. Such an agency is usually free from bureaucratic rigidness for its smooth operation and timely delivery of its inputs. The OSGoF defines the entity called Nigeria, is responsible for the boundary location (pillars), is the repository of essentially the geospatial data of Nigeria, and is a member of the Board of Border Community chaired by the Vice President.
There has been the question as to which of the government ministries should the OSGoF be positioned under for supervision to enable it function appropriately and effectively. In the colonial era, the surveyor-general of the country operated under the governor-general such that in the absence of the governor-general, the surveyor-general was expected to administer. However, the wisdom as to the appropriate place to situate the OSGoF or any other agency lies with the government.
Placing such an office under a particular establishment undermines the relevance of its functions and demeans the upshot of its centrality to any of the sectors of the economy, industries and for the sake of emphasis, all ministries, departments and agencies. The reinforcement of this view is in the appreciation of the scope and functions of the technical departments of the OSGoF. The OSGoF’s responsibility is spelt out in the Second Schedule, Part ll, Section 4, Item K, Paragraph 25 of the 1999 Constitution which is to perform trigonometrical, cadastral and topographical surveys. Its statutory role is the provision of geospatial data/needs of the government and various sectors of the economy for reliable decisions, effective planning and implementation.
It is the office that implements the provisions of the Survey Coordination Act of 1962 with its subsequent amendments. The implications of the Act on matters of national security are overarching; one of the major reasons for its strategic collaboration with state governments through their state surveyor-generals, the military, the police and other security agencies. To achieve its mandate as a solutions provider, the office comprises 13 technical departments: Hydrography, Geodesy, Cadastral, Infrastructure, Intelligence Survey, International Boundary, Internal Boundary, Photogrammetry and Remote-Sensing, Survey Coordination, Geospatial Engineering, Cartography and GIS, Special Duties (Survey), Planning Research and Documentation.
A synopsis of the functions of these aforementioned departments reveals the fascinating and remarkable nature of surveying and geoinformatics. The OSGoF is relevant to the development and improvement of our defence and security, telecommunication networks, agriculture, harnessing of natural resources, housing and road infrastructure, health, aviation, marine and blue economy, oil and gas, disaster management, and so on and so forth. Achievements cannot be recorded in any enterprise without making good decisions, effective planning and execution; the right tools for these are surveying and geoinformatics. The functions of OSGoF cut across all MDAs and sectors, and this underscores its importance to the country.
- Michael Abu is the Head of Press and Public Relations, Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation
