By: Tijani Salako.
League of professional stakeholders in the Nigerian real estate industry have called on it members to uphold strong ethical reforms and stricter enforcement of professional standards to rebuild public confidence and attract foreign investment into the sector.
They made the call during an exclusive interview at the Nigerian Institutions of Estate Surveyors and Values, Lagos State branch summit (NIESV), themed “Building Trust and Driving Excellence in Real Estate Practice: Global Standards, Local Realities.”
The keynote speaker at the event Mr Yemi Ejidiran noted that trust remains the foundation of any thriving real estate market, stressing that once trust is broken, investors confidence and national growth are threatened. “Trust is a critical component of our business. Once it is lost, the entire system begins to collapse,”
Ejidiran explained that the summit is timely and served as an advocacy platform to encourage professionals to embrace ethical conduct and influence policy direction. “This platform must become a tool to assist government in making and enforcing laws that drive real estate growth, Our laws must evolve as regulation should not be remain static.”
He observed that Nigeria’s reputation among international investors had suffered over time due to recurring breaches of trust, noting that recent improvements in governance were beginning to renew investor confidence. “Investors are now gradually returning, which shows that trust is being rebuilt,” he noted.
Also the Chairman of the Occasion and past president of NIESV, Mr. Emeka Eleh, commended the Lagos branch of NIESV for championing conversations around trust and excellence. He said “Every business, not just real estate, must be built on trust and driven by excellence, global investors expect the same standards from Nigeria as they do from other parts of the world.”
Eleh stressed that “Transparent data helps to build confidence, that is why we publish annual real estate reports to provide credible market information, urging professional bodies to sustain advocacy and collaborate with government to ensure an efficient and transparent property market that supports national development.
Similarly, the Chairman of NIESV Lagos State Branch Esv Tosin Kadiri said “the summit’s theme was inspired by the growing need to address the erosion of confidence in professional practice as clients are beginning to doubt our trust, competence, and diligence, we must restore credibility through ethics, excellence, and transparency.”
Esv Kadiri explained that “global investors expect the same level of professionalism in Nigeria as they find in other developed markets what is obtainable in South Africa or the UK is what investors expect here, we must bridge the gap between global standards and local realities,” he said.
On the link between ethics and safety, he noted that “building collapses and project failures often result from ethical lapses, you cannot build trust without ethics, If every professional upholds integrity, accountability, and transparency, the frequency of building collapses will drastically reduce.”
The branch chairman added that the institution has disciplinary mechanisms to sanction erring members. “We have bodies at both national and state levels that handle professional misconduct, as discipline is key to restoring confidence in our profession.” Kadiri concluded.