The Department of Estate Management was established under the Faculty of Environmental Sciences in the 2016/2017 academic session during the tenure of the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Professor Fidelis U. Okafor. Although, the craving to have the Department of Estate Management in Anambra State University had remained a topic for discussion among Estate Surveyors and Valuers in Anambra State; the first official campaign to establish this Department was made in early 2016 by a powerful delegation of Anambra State Chapter of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors led by Mr. Paul O. Obiora (Then State Chairman of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers). The current Dean of the Faculty, Professor L.N. Moughalu working from the inside played a major role in establishing the Department.
The Department was created primarily to fill the manpower gap and academic aspirations of the Anambra people which Nnamdi Azikiwe University, the University of Nigeria (UNN), Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology and Imo State University Owerri could not fill. Secondly, Anambra State indigenes are major stakeholders in Real Estate Investments in Nigeria and in other major property markets of the world. The people of Southeastern Nigeria are known for their strong interest in land and landed property investments both within their domain and beyond. In this consideration, the penchant of the Anambra people for Real Estate ownership is unparalleled among other ethnic groups in Africa.
The then Dr. Fidelis Emoh (Now Professor) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University came on Sabbatical and assumed duty as the pioneer Programme Coordinator/HOD, at the expiration of Dr. Emoh’s Sabbatical Leave, Dr. Alpha Odumodu took over as the substantive Head of the Department of Estate Management, and during his tenure as HOD, the Department successfully passed through the National University Commission (NUC) Resource Verification Exercise in 2017/18 academic session.
The current Head of Department, Dr. Anyakora Mike Ifeanyi took over the mantle of Departmental and academic leadership from Dr. Odumodu when he voluntarily existed from the University’s Service in 2018/2019 academic session. Dr. Anyakora is poised to consolidate the wonderful contributions of his predecessors in office by working assiduously to position the Department for excellence in teaching, learning and research for positive impact on the wider society and effective contribution to national development by the graduates of the Department. The Department pursues the course of greater reliance and collaboration with the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) and the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON). Furthermore, the Department is inclined towards expanding her research engagements through academic collaborations with other Universities. Already, the Department is collaborating with:
(a) the University of Lagos through the Center for Housing and Sustainable Cities to promote public policy action research approach in Nigeria; the recently concluded Neighbourhood Level Research One Week Conference was one of the outcomes of such collaborative relationships, and
(b) The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) Anambra State Branch in Professional Development Research and in organizing the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development Programmes as some of the Departmental staff members play vital roles at both the Executive and Committee levels.
