The
term real estate doesn’t mean land and landed properties alone, it also
connotes everything that is above in the sky, below the ground and on the earth’s
surface.
The
history of real estate management practice in Nigeria can be traced back to
medieval period, long before advent of the British colonialization era. This is
so because our forefathers were estate managers who took care of their hamlets,
land and farm holdings for the overall benefit of their wellbeing, wives and
children who later inherit these estates.
Prior
to real estate management becoming a profession in Nigeria, the real estate
management has been generally practiced in one way or another until it became a
recognized discipline that is studied in various tertiary institutions in
Nigeria.
The
write-up below is an excerpt from a book written by Bello, I.K, and Olajide,
S.E (2003), titled “A Handbook of Estate Management (Principles and Practice)”.
The
excerpt titled “Evolution of The Profession In Nigeria”, talked about the
historical origin of estate management discipline from the ancient times to the
industrialization period in Europe. The motive for the establishment of the
first professional association in UK (Land Surveyor Club) (1843), which was
later renamed the Surveyor Institution (1868) and Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (1946) .
The
excerpt also gave account on how the real estate management profession was
brought into Nigeria by a Briton named F.G Gleave, a chartered surveyor who
established the first real estate surveying and valuation firm in the country.
EVOLUTION OF THE PROFESSION IN
NIGERIA: Excerpt from “A Handbook of Estate Management (Principles and
Practice)” By Bello, I.K, and Olajide, S.E (2003)
The
origin of Estate Management profession dates back to the beginning of time. At
creation, God established the Garden of Eden and put Adam and Eve in charge of
it (Gen: 2;15). Thus, Adam and Eve were the first Estate Managers since Eden
was the first estate known to man.
However,
the evolution of estate management as a distinct and recognized profession is a
Middle Ages development rooted to the feudal societies of Europe. The lords of
the Manor of Medieval Europe owned exclusive and sometimes far-flung land
holdings. Usually, only a small portion of each of these estates was held and
exploited by the direct land owners. The rest, which constituted the bulk of
these holdings, was given out to tenants and serfs to use, either for a fee or
under some Feudal arrangements. On the account of the size and disparate
locations of these holdings, each land owners appointed stewards or agents to
oversee the estates for them.
At
the beginning, what was required of these stewards was that they were men of
honour who could be trusted in fiduciary relationship. This explains the
sobriquet, “Noble” which is attached to the profession of Estate Surveying and
Valuation.
As
time went on and the business of managing these estates rose in sophistication,
the requirements for the job increased.
First,
it became necessary that the practitioners should also be lettered in order to
keep pace with the demands of ever increasing record keeping. Next, a knowledge
of book keeping was required to accommodate the accounting requirement
involved.
Later
on, the ability to tackle various proprietary and commercial relations involved
in these estates introduced surveying, law, commerce, economics and statistics
into the profession.
The
modern foundations of what is now known variously as estate management, estate
surveying and valuation, or land economics was laid in the mid-18th
century.
In
the wake of the Industrial Revolution, a major re-organisation took place in
most of Europe. In the UK especially, this resulted in a massive population
shift from rural to urban areas and a subsequent redistribution of land rights
and property interest.
At
the dawn of the 19th century, the practitioners of the various
skills comprising estate management banded themselves into trade groups or
guilds. Later on, there were definite moves to form a distinct professional
group to embrace the various classifications. The most serious moves began in
London on June 27, 1843 with the formation of the Land Surveyor Club.
These
were in fits and starts until the establishment of the Surveyor Institution on
March 23 1868, which metamorphosed into the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors, RICS, in 1946.
The
profession of estate surveying and valuation followed in the wake of
colonialism in Nigeria, with F.G Gleave, an expatriate, being the first known
chartered surveyors to set up a general practice or estate surveying and
valuation firm in the country about 1955. Hitherto, there were few chartered
surveyors in private and public employment in Nigeria.
ABOUT ME
I
am a Higher National Diploma (HND)
holder of Estate Management from the prestigious Yaba College of Technology,
Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria. I also
possess a Professional Practice Certificate in Estate Surveying and Valuation
from the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).
I
am also the principal consultant of
Aakient Consultants Ltd, a highly progressive and consolidated property and
construction project management company, which is committed to providing the
highest level of professionalism and services in meeting clients’ real estate
needs.
Feel
free to contact me through; aakientconsultants@gmail.com
