By Kingsley Adegboye

An America-based geospatial and surveying solutions providers, Trimble, has disclosed that in order to make land administration easy in Nigeria, it is currently discussing with the federal government on the deployment of geospatial data and surveying technology that are capable of resolving issues around land administration.

Specifically, the discussion is between the American firm and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation.

The firm’s Vice President, Emerging Markets and Funded Projects, Mr. Albert Momo, who made this known in Lagos during a two-day investors’ forum in Lagos tagged Trimble Days in West Africa organised by the solutions-based firm, assured that Trimble’s geospatial and surveying solutions would bring about effective land reform in the country.

According to Momo, the technologies in focus can help land administration in several ways, adding that “I am glad that we have the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation at this two-day seminar. Nigeria, like many other countries, is in need of land reform. In order to do land reform, you need the technology that will make the work of surveyors easier. You need all the technologies that will make land administration easier”.

“We are discussing with Office of Surveyor-General of the Federation to see some of the solutions that can be applied in Nigeria. One of them is the setting up of the geodetic network in Nigeria. I know the Surveyor-General. One of his plans is to make Nigeria to have one of the geodetic networks, and we are trying to be part of the solutions”, he said.

Momo who stated that the purpose of the West Africa Investors’ forum was to introduce ranges of Trimble technologies to Nigeria and to show Nigerians how they could apply the technologies to improve their work rate, said “We know that we can improve in agriculture, we can improve land administration, improve work of surveyors and we can improve construction by using one of the technologies we are introducing.

He noted that the geospatial technologies that his firm is introducing are using Artificial Intelligence.

On how Trimble can help the local investors grow in the business, Momo said ”We want them to train the people and support the local people. That’s what Trimble does worldwide and that is what we want. Let there be deliberate decision to invest in the local economy so that your product will

According to him, ”One of the plans for Nigeria is to be more active, more aggressive in the market and to support all our partners as well as customers for them to be successful. We want to be there for them, making sure they are well trained, making sure they have access to all we can offer.”

On the rating of the performance of the firm representatives in the country, Momo said they are trying but they could do better.

“I think we can always do better. Let’s be honest, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, but I can tell you that Nigeria is not our biggest market in Africa. That is why we are coming in to know maybe people are not getting enough information about our technologies and that is why we are bringing Trimble technologies to you. And maybe we didn’t do enough, and that is one of the reasons I am here, and one of the reasons I am bringing our representatives here to make sure that in the future we do better.”

“We have more than 700 products. Anything you see is just a fraction of what we can offer. The products are both hardwares and softwares. A market like Nigeria in my mind should be more matured to able to absorb subscription-based solutions.

In his remark, a major representative of the firm in Nigeria and CEO of Lordsfield Limited, Mr Oluropo Olajugba, commended the firm’s management for the investors’ forum in Nigeria but called Trimble management to invest more in Nigeria’s local economy.

Olajugba, who has been sole representative of Trimble in the last 15 years in Nigeria, is of the opinion that such investment would support local economy to create jobs for the people.

He pointed out that Nigeria’s economy and people are facing many challenges.

According to him, the hardship the country and her people are facing also affects Trimble’s market in Nigeria.

As a result, Olajugba explained that the Federal government has been calling for investors and people who would support the economy to provide jobs for the people.

“What we are saying is that, support the local indigenous people, who are running your business. Support them so that you can provide jobs so that you can pay tax because it’s through tax the government will do what we want government to do.