By Adeyinka Adeniran
Following his recent appointment by President Bola Tinubu as the President, Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), Surv. Moshood Onifade Akinwande, has said the appointment was not as a result of his power or knowlegde but the will of God
Recall that, the Oyo town-born Akinwande who retired in 2018 as a Director of Research, Planning and Documentation in the Office of the Surveyor- General of the Federation, was on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 inaugurated in Abuja as President of the 10th Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON) by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
SURCON is the regulatory Body for all surveyors in Nigeria, comprising 59 members of which all Surveyors-General of the 36 states of the federation, and the Director, Mapping in Abuja, are members.
He spoke on Saturday during a luncheon organised in his honour by the 1981 Set of the Alumni of the Ladigbolu Grammar School, Oyo.
Akinwande, who was full of gratitude to President Tinubu, was at the event flanked by his wife Mrs. Oluwakemi and the President General of the Ladigbolu Grammar School Old Students Association, Pastor Funmilayo Ojoawo.
In his speech at the luncheon attended by the Registrar, SURCON, Surv. Ola Kunle Ogungbemiro; the Chairman of Oyo State Institution of Surveyors, Surv. Ajibade Bashiru Bolanle, as well as, the ex- Registrar of the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, Mr. Kola Oyedele, Akinwande thanked God and President Tinubu who considered him worthy of the esteemed appointment, noting that “without God, there is nothing anybody can do. He has seen me thus far, and I don’t take God for granted. Without God, I cannot be where I am today. I am not the best. We have over 6,000 registered surveyors in the country. So, why me, if not God.
“When I was informed that my 1981 colleagues would want to honour me, I said why not? What am I doing that I will not be here? I quickly called my Registrar and told him we must come together. I called our Chairman in Oyo state also, and they both agreed to come with me. I am glad for this honour. I thank God and I thank you all”, he said excitedly.
In his remarks, the Registrar SURCON, Surv. Olakunle Ogungbemiro, said that with the appointment of Akinwande, he has been having good sleep because since three years past when the Council was not functional, he had been working round the clock until Akinwande’s appointment. “Whenever anybody called me to complain about anything, I now tell them that we have a Council and that the President should be contacted. The President has been very wonderful and hard working. I am happy to be part of his success”, he said.
In his keynote address, the President of the 1981 Set, Mr. Segun Oke, congratulated Akinwande, saying that “your elevation is a testament to your hard work, integrity, competence, and dedication to professional excellence. It is also a source of pride to all of us in the 1981 Set and the Ladigbolu Family”.
Oke therefore charged the SURCON President “to excel in office. Let your tenure reflect the values for which the 1981 Set is known. Go forth and raise the Ladigbolu banner high at the Surveyors Council of Nigeria”.
Among the well wishers who appealed to Akinwande to strive and excel were: Dr. Moroof Akinwande (a former House of Representatives member); the Chairman, Welfare Committee 1981 Set, Lateef Adeyeye, the Senior Boy and Senior Girl of the 1981 Set: Lukman Alarape and Titilayo Olaleye (Nee Adebowale), Sola Adeyemo Esq., as well as, the various mates who converged on Oyo town to celebrate one of their own.
