Immediate past Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has stated that climate change will be the defining challenge of this century due to its far-reaching impacts on ecosystems, economies, societies, and human health, and Africa will be at the centre of its implications.

Speaking at the 42th Annual Olumide Memorial Lecture organized by the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors in Abuja, Osinbajo also added that the continent is warming faster than any others while being the least emitters of greenhouse gases, meaning, if things go on this way, we will be the first to experience the predicted apocalypse.

He explained that Africa is experiencing horrifying weather events from unprecedented thunderstorms that appear to be precursors to hurricanes, massive

flooding, heatwaves, to desertification, drying up of wetlands and rising water levels, all endangering whole towns and cities.

“We have short to long term implications that ideally there should be more frequent surveys. Where natural disasters like floods, thunderstorms and landslides increase. There is need for more frequent land surveys to assess damage, monitor changes in terrain, and ensure accurate data for rebuilding efforts,” he said.

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In addition,  Osinbajo stressed that we would experience shifting terrain and sea-level rise, especially in coastal areas, and it will require surveyors to frequently reassess boundaries and topography, while flooding and erosion will equally alter landscapes, which would necessitate regular updates to land maps.

Similarly, he opined that buildings and building codes and regulations in this new world will have to be considerably reviewed, for example, in Abuja a fierce thunderstorm occurred peeling off roofs of houses, forcefully breaking glass windows and doors, and bringing down electric poles and other structures.

“Surveying is particularly amenable to AI, machine learning and  big data because at its core is the gathering and interpretation of data, and these are the very things that these technologies have now taken to unbelievable levels. So using manual methods, mechanical tools and large teams of surveyors depending on the size of the terrain is disappearing,” he remarked.

He therefore called on NIS to get involved in the processes, including contributing to the schedules of Specific  Commitments as they are being put forward and discussed, to be in a position to influence outcomes when negotiations come to Surveying and the possibilities of opening up the profession to enable cross border practice.