SURVEYORS : CUSTODIANS OF TRUTH

Thanks to advancement in technology. Today, it is easier to make maps, digitize ancient analogue maps, modify their coordinate reference systems for flexibility of use.

Sometime last week, our client (some community leaders) brought some dispute plans in suit, dated 1974, 1992, and 2019, asking us to give professional interpretation to the facts in the plans, vet their authenticity and also possibly stand-in as professional witness in the law court.

I've always longed to witness such court hearings each time my Boss is consulted by clients with dispute cases... But this one is different. Because it has lingered over the years, starting as community dispute in the old Eastern Nigeria, to state level, and it is to be decided by the Supreme court later this year.

Armed with the variety of maps, and handful information, we employed the use of satellite imageries to back-date the project area, in order to gain insight on the change of events and some natural boundary features...mostly rivers, streams and ponds.

You see, Earth data does not lie, hence the duty of a Surveyor to compare information presented by both the plaintiffs and defendants with the actual information, the way it is in reality.

Here, we brought together the variety of maps, while overlaying them on our aerial orthophotos which represents reality for this project.

The results were glaring, because every boundary feature cited by the both parties fell in place...their actual position on ground.

Empowered by this result, we are hoping to help the apex court resolve amicable this age-long dispute between the two communities.

One recommendation would be the need for state boundary re-adjustment all round the federation.

Most state boundary communities have their ancestral boundary lines, which do not tally with the boundary lines defining states of the federation.

Your regular bushman...

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