The Surveyor-General of the Federation (SGOF) and Chairman of the Governing Council of the African Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology (AFRIGIST), Surv. Abuduganiyu Adebomehin, has issued a stern warning to the institute, stressing that its programmes must go beyond theory to provide practical solutions to pressing community challenges.
Adebomehin, who spoke in his office on Thursday, 18th September, 2025, after listening to project presentations by three AFRIGIST graduates. He said the institute risks an overhaul if it continues to limit its focus to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) without adequately prioritizing surveying and other solution-driven courses.
“You are not solving surveying problems if all you do is just learn the rudiments of GIS. Graduating students must identify problems in surveying and design solutions to tackle them. They should be able to write programmes that address community needs, not just present projects for graduation’s sake,” he said.
The Surveyor-General emphasized that AFRIGIST, established by the United Nations to train African professionals in aerospace surveys, geoinformatics, cartography, remote sensing, photogrammetry, and related fields, was never intended to be “just a normal school.” “The school must employ surveyors to teach Geodesy. If lecturers remain mostly geography-based, there will be consequences. AFRIGIST must live up to its founding mandate, solving real world problems that conventional institutions cannot,” Adebomehin cautioned.
He further urged staff to strengthen their expertise in hydrography, warning that inadequate knowledge could hinder future deployments to specialized institutions such as the National School of Hydrography.
Earlier, graduate Surv. Tsenongo Manasseh, in his thesis on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Flood Risk Assessment in Makurdi Local Government Area, recommended the development of real-time GIS-based monitoring and alert systems using satellite data and IoT sensors, alongside stronger policy frameworks.
Another presenter, Adegboye Babajide Femi, an Assistant Director in the OSGOF Geodesy Department, advocated for urban planning strategies that conserve green spaces to mitigate urban heat islands and rising land surface temperatures.
The event was attended by youth corps members, industrial training students of surveying, young surveyors, and OSGOF management staff.
