ESV. Victor Alonge is the 26th president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV). In this interview with Daily Trust ahead of his formal Inauguration today, he highlights the reforms he intends to carry out in partnership with the government as part of efforts to boost confidence in the real estate sector and also put the profession on the global map.
You took over in April as the 26th President of the NIESV. Tell us the journey so far and your plans?
Yes, I assumed office in April and as a professional body which is established by law, made by parliament, we have responsibility to ourselves and also to Nigerians. Since we assumed office, what we have been doing is actually trying to lay the groundwork for what we will be doing in the next two years and it’s actually to prepare the framework for our cardinal policy.
What we have decided is to focus on what I call the ‘four R’s’, that is to carry out Re-form, to Re-structure, to Re-position our institution and then to ensure that we as a profession attain the level of Relevance that we are expected to.
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I start with Restructuring because we have found out that the world is a global village now; boundaries are being demolished and professionals are able to practice without boundaries.
We need to make sure that estates of various forms in Nigeria are actually ready to take on that new development because we have very competent and well-trained professionals here, not just for the benefit of Nigerians but also Africa as a whole and the world. So, we are actually working to ensure that we are positioned for that.
Also, the reform we are undertaking is to make sure that we are in tune with the dynamics of our economic development and changes.
How do you intend to reposition your profession?
If you talk to a number of people, you will realize that they are still not really certain about our range of services, what we do, what we stand for etc, A lot of people think that when you call us valuers, we are agents. We are not just agents, we are professionals, and the biggest asset of any nation is the resources that they have in terms of land and natural resources and we are the professionals that are trained to manage these resources.
If you look at the economy of developed countries in Europe, North America and so on, the value of their real estate assets to their GDP is really sizable, we are talking of between 20 to 30percent. Whereas in Nigeria, our contribution to GDP is only about 5-6 percent. So, I see a lot of room to actually improve and bring Nigerians out of poverty. I think the last survey by PwC identified that the value of debt asset that we have in the real estate sector is about $900 billion and those are real estate assets that cannot be brought into the economic cycle of the country. You can imagine if we are able to bring just 50 percent of that into the economy; look at the multiplier effect, the productivity effect that we generate and then the impact on GDP and eventually on our development. We are trying to ensure that we reposition ourselves so that we can actually offer that service.
You mentioned recently that Nigeria doesn’t even know the actual value of its real estate. What are you doing to assist the government in that regard?
Okay, I’m worried, but the point is that my worry is being addressed now because the government has actually realized that, and that is why the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Finance incorporated have taken that challenge up. They are trying now to address that issue by making sure that they have data on the assets of the country; not just the numbers but also the value, and that is a good way to start. The government is on the right path as far as this is concerned and the government has actually done the right thing by saying they want to do this.
However, we cannot leave government alone to do it because we have to come to their aid since we are the experts who understand this and can actually assist. That’s why we need to come around and say, look, yes, we support this your mission, your decision, your policy, but these are our own professional advice and we work together, and I think it’s actually helping. The institution is actually engaging with the appropriate authority to make sure that we provide our own input into this, but I think we are satisfied that that aspect is being addressed.
One of the current battling issues we have in the property sector is building collapse. What are your perspectives on this issue and how can government tackle it?
We have laws, and we have building control and building regulation laws, especially at the state level, but the biggest problem is compliance with those laws and then enforcement.
Compliance and enforcement are two different things. Compliance is by the developers, meanwhile, enforcement is government, so if one party is not living up to its obligation, especially the developers, the government is there to enforce. We believe that if we have proper enforcement, all we can do about compliance is to create awareness for developers, contractors, builders that these laws are here and then educate them on how to comply with the law but the enforcement also has to be strengthened.
If the enforcement system is strengthened, it will reduce the incidences of building collapse, but from a lot of reports of collapsed buildings that we have seen, there have been compromises, especially in the enforcement aspect. There is little bodies that are not government can actually do to ensure enforcement of compliance; all we can do is to continue to make our views known, to keep on repeating it every day, but the actual compliance will have to be done by government.
Therefore, we need government and governors that are very strict, that are concerned and actually value human life, because when the building collapses, it’s not just the value or the money that is wasted, but human lives are lost, so we need that enforcement aspect to be strengthened.
Many people don’t know the difference between the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS) and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV). What is the difference?
Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) are land surveyors; they survey lands, provide the cadastral survey before development is carried out. Basically, their job is to survey land, produce the cadastral, the digital topographic plan (DTP).
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) provides advise in the development process and the planning, although we also have town planners, but in area of development, we come in and provide professional opinion and advice on how best to develop.
There is what we call land use map, in every region or every city or every town. When that is produced and a development is coming up, we tell you, for example, if it’s good for commercial and the best commercial venture you can carry out there. We advise you on how to optimize your development interest and we also manage the development process to ensure that what you conceived in the beginning is actually managed properly throughout. It’s not just about fiscal compliance but also the economic aspect because there’s no point in starting a project thinking that you will spend N2 billion at the end of the day, you finish it with N10 billion.
So, we are more like economists of property development and we also carry out valuation. For instance, if you want to know the value of your asset, no other professional will do it for you. We are the only professionals that are not just qualified, but also authorized by law to carry out valuation, that’s why when you go to bank to take a loan, to pledge your house or your property, they will ask you to get a valuation report, and that’s our job.
We are also into facility management, where me manage facilities and ensure that they are effective and efficient.
What do you see yourself achieving at the end of your tenure?
I see myself achieving my set target and the target of the institution, which is to reform the institution for better performance, to restructure, to reposition and to have relevance.
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