The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has named the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi as the Insurance Broking Ambassador in Nigeria, The Nation report.
Its, Dr. Bola Onigbogi, made this known during the visit by the delegation of the Council to the traditional ruler in his palace in Ile Ife, Osun State.
Mrs Onigbogi noted that the traditional ruler has continued to demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment to the growth of the insurance broking profession in Nigeria, stressing that the insurance industry’s capacity for growth would be enhanced if notable figures identified with the profession which she noted was the bastion of national economic growth.
She implored the monarch to utilise his position in the comity of other prominent traditional rulers in the country to assist with the propagation of insurance to enhance their understanding of the pivotal place of insurance for strengthening of social relationship at the grassroots as well as being a safety valve against perennial losses of property and lives.
She said that it is often the case that traditional rulers by virtue of their closeness to the grassroots are often the first point of contact by the people, especially when they suffer a loss and the embrace of insurance by the people would reduce the misery they often suffer and at the same time enhance the relevance of the traditional rulers to the people.
Responding, Oba Ogunwusi promised to assist the broking profession and the industry to underscore the crucial place of insurance as a risk mitigating device among traditional rulers in the country, stressing that there is no economy that could achieve desired progress and development if insurance and risk management are not giving their deserved place.
In the same vein, Osun State Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, assured that the state would continue to deploy insurance as a prudential strategy for protecting the human and material assets of the state.
Oyetola, who also spoke when a delegation of the NCRIB, led by its President, Mrs Onigbogi visited Osun State, noted that the state was working on ways to collaborate with the National Insurance Commission to grow the industry and accelerate its acceptance in the state by giving impetus to the law on compulsory insurances.
He noted that it was more prudent for government to insure its human and material assets well before any loss occurs to them rather than wait and bemoan the people’s calamities, most often by attempting to succour the victims from the meagre funds at the state’s disposal. “At best the monies could be diverted to more progressive ventures of the state requiring more urgent attention.
The NCRIB President, however, utilised the platform to underscore the need for government to imbibe the culture of making budgetary provisions for insurance on a yearly basis so as to ensure provision of effective insurance covers for the numerous assets, guaranteeing economic and social stability of the country.
