UNILAG alumni to estate managers: Work with government to address housing deficit

The alumni of the department of estate management, University of Lagos (UNILAG), have asked estate managers and valuers to use their profession to influence government’s policies in order to reduce the housing deficit in Nigeria.

Wale Afolabi, chairman, organising committee for the 2001 class of estate management department alumni association of the University of Lagos, spoke at the 20th anniversary dinner of the association, which held in Lagos.

Afolabi said the event was to celebrate 20 years of their strive towards the attainment of excellence in their professional careers.

He urged professional estate surveyors and valuers not to jettison their role in ensuring that “we influence government to reduce the deplorable housing deficit in Nigeria”.

“Without a fragment of doubt, we know what the challenges are in our nation. As professional estate surveyors and valuers, we must brace ourselves for further individual successes, but we must not jettison our role in ensuring that we influence the government to reduce the deplorable housing deficit in Nigeria,” he said.

“Our people should not be living in slums. The dignity of life must be preserved and upheld in our nation and we all must continue to use our various influences positively in this regard.”

Afolabi also talked about the plans the alumni have for its former department.

“As much as we are thinking big, we are starting small. This for us will be a marathon and not a sprint. We have raised funds and we will be presenting much-needed gifts to the estate management department of the University of Lagos, our alma mater,” he said.

“We have also concluded plans to begin an annual scholarship programme for students from this department with established financial difficulties. Modalities and criteria for this will be rolled out imminently.

“Today, four students will be awarded. We are also going to commence the renovation of the MSC classroom.”

He thanked the department’s lecturers for their impact, saying the collective success of the alumni is also their success.

“I congratulate you on your resilience and determination to succeed. For me, the obscurity and uncertainty of the next 20 years when we graduated in 2001 were rife. Without a doubt, graduating into such a consistently volatile social, political and economic climate that has and continues to shock our nation should frighten any young graduate,” Afolabi said.

“Today, however, although those obscurities and uncertainties remain the order of the day in Nigeria, your faces reflect in sharp contrast the radiance of the successes you have all achieved.

“I must pay a resounding tribute to our esteemed lecturers here tonight. These radiant faces and successes attained in the course of the last 20 years are products of your hard work and, most importantly, the knowledge you selflessly impacted relentlessly for five years between 1996 and 2001, our graduation year.

“You should all be proud as our collective successes are undoubtedly your successes. We thank you all from the depths of our hearts.”