Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade ll on Monday sought the support and cooperation of the Licensed Surveyors in Oyo State in his resolve to put an end to a negative emblem that has been placed on Ibadan as a place where a parcel of land is sold to more than one person at a time.
Oba Balogun made this request while playing host to the Oyo State chapter of Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS) who came on a congratulatory visit to the monarch which coincided with the celebration of Global Surveyors Day.
Olubadan, who expressed delight at the visit remarked that the coincidence of the visit with the very important day in the calendar of the Surveyors globally was significant and asked them to partner with him and his advisory council (Olubadan-in-Council) to give Ibadan a new name and identity befitting a modern metropolis.
According to him, “we have resolved at the council level to find a lasting solution to the menace of land grabbing in Ibadanland which has become a negative identity of all of us Ibadan sons and daughters. We cannot do it alone, we want your partnership both at individual and corporate levels.
“As professionals, there is nothing pertaining to land purchase that can be done outside of you, hence, the need for you to be on the same page with us by ensuring that you are engaged only by people that have genuine land documents and solid family history”, Oba Balogun added.
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Earlier, the NIS led by Lamidi Waheed Abiodun had told the new Olubadan that the visit was to felicitate Oba Balogun on his coronation and to enjoin him to give them all royal support the Institute may need in the state from time to time.
He explained that his administration had been up and doing to get rid of quacks in the profession towards ensuring that the issue of land grabbing is addressed, noting that “the Institute is aware of the dent the activities of the quacks are putting on the profession which they are not comfortable with.
“As we are here Kabiyesi, we have pursued some quakery-related cases to court while some are in the offing. We are respectable and distinguished professionals, who are conscious of our integrity and the ethics of our profession which we must guard jealously at all times.
“We are aware too that the quacks are encouraged by the patronage they receive from the members of the public and we have been on air for some time now, sensitizing the public on the danger inherent in their patronage and we are not relenting”, Surv. Abiodun added.
