The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria has renewed its commitment to raise quantity surveying professionals that would meet the needs of the country.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Kabiru Bala, stated this while celebrating 50 years of Quantity Surveying programme organised by the Department of Quantity Survey in Zaria on Saturday.
The event has “Celebrating 50 years of shaping visionary quantity surveyors” as its theme.
The vice-chancellor said the vision by the founding fathers of the programme was to raise quantity surveying professionals that would meet the country’s needs.
He added that the university would continually pursue the need to raise quantity surveying professionals that would meet the national requirements.
Bala added that since 1971 when the programme was established, the university has placed its footstep on the sand of time being the first university in Africa to commence a honors degree programme in quantity surveying.
“Here we are 50 years later having progressively grown from pioneer class of 14 students to the alumni of over 300,000.
“The programme started from the department of civil engineering through the years and despite many challenges it has grown to a department which is graduating postgraduate students.
“The department of quantity surveying has indeed contributed to shaping the life of men and women of vision in the private and public sectors, academia and other spheres both at home and Diaspora,’’ Bala said.
Malam Murtala Abba, the President, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), said the Alumni from the Department of Quantity Survey of ABU had produced six presidents of NIQS and other portfolio officers of the institute.
The president said the institution was looking up to ABU and other institutions across the country to proffer solutions on the challenges posed to the profession by disruptive technology, globalisation, changing customer expectations and requirement, among others.
He noted that the challenges were among the major reasons for the institute to embark on the rebranding and targeted capacity building programmes.
Similarly, the Special Guest of Honour, Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, said ABU was a pacesetter on the quantity surveying profession because it was the first university to offer academic quantity surveying programmes.
According to him, until 1971 when ABU started the programme, the course was offered only in polytechnics which were offering diplomas, which later became degrees but not honors degrees.
“At then, a degree from a polytechnic was not honors degree because it was issued by the Council for National Academic Award (CNAA),’’ he said.
The governor said he was grateful to God for studying Quantity Surveying which was not an ordinary degree but a multidisciplinary preparation for life.
He added that under the programme he studied economics, management, law and rudiments of virtually everything which prepared him for real life, stressing that “what I took out of the programme was exposure to this related field’’.
“Therefore, all of us should be proud of the programme not only because it gives us an opportunity to live well, but to make major contributions on the development of our country,’’ he said. (NAN)
