SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN COUNCIL OF REGISTERED INSURANCE BROKERS, MR. ROTIMI EDU, mni, FCIB AT THE DIAMOND COLLOQUIUM OF THE COUNCIL HELD AT THE LAGOS MARRIOTT HOTEL, LAGOS ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

  • The Chairman of this great event and Executive Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN
  • His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Olusola Sanwo-Olu,FCIB
  • The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. O.S Thomas, FCIB
  • The Key Speaker, Chairman of Heirs Group, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu
  • The Doyen of Insurance Industry in Nigeria, Olola Olabode Ogunlana, FCIB
  • Our revered Discussants, NCRIB Past Presidents Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja; High Chief Prosper Okpue and my Dr. Biodun Adedipe
  • All our Living Ancestors or Past Presidents and Elders of the Council
  • Captains of the Insurance Industry and the Business Community
  • Ladies and Gentlemen
  • Gentlemen of the Media

Today is another epochal event in the annals of our Council as we celebrate one of the highpoints of the Diamond Anniversary of the Council.

Needless to state that it is no mean feat that the Council, which started as a mere collaboration of few Insurance Operators, post Nigeria Independence in 1962, to take advantage of the country’s burgeourning trade and economy, has grown to one of the foremost professional institutions in Nigeria today. Great plaudits should go to all the founding fathers, elders and entire membership of the Council for their diligent commitment to the growth of the Council.

As we are aware, Insurance plays a significant role in any economy as it promotes peace of mind, facilitates trade and commerce and enables entrepreneurship. Regretfully, as against the trend in advanced economies, the insurance industry in Nigeria has not been able to play its required catalytic roles due to multifarious reasons that time may not allow me to rehash here. It remains unacceptable that the industry contributes less than 1 per cent of the nations GDP. This development has been unnerving and as such all statekeholders in the industry, including our Council have been making strident efforts to reverse the trend which requires more adherence to professionalism, ethics and acceleration of public awareness initiatives about the industry.

It has always been our take that Insurance Brokers who constitute the professional arm of the insurance industry have a great role to play in causing the desired change in the industry. Aside from constituting a preponderant chunk of the industry’s manpower, professionally, Insurance Brokers, are the closest to the insuring public whose actitivities could not be undermined in the value chain. This position of the Broker confers on him the responsibility to always get the best for his client and be continually creative in terms of products development.

On the part of the Council, it is most heartwarming that we have continued to braze up to the challenges being faced by our members for the collective good of the industry. Aside from seeing to it that  our membership remain cohesive, informed and dynamic, we have put in place strategies to edge out charlatans from our midst. Our aspiration is to make our Council a “League of Reputable Insurance Brokers” that would offer valued services to insurance clients in the country. For instance, with the professional practicing seal now introduced, all members of the Council would be able to distinguish their practice and by so doing earn the required respect and dignity.

Permit me at this juncture to appreciate the Chairman of this Colloquium, His Excellency, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, for electing to attend this epochal event in spite of his pressing challenges of office. . Also, I must thank the Chairman of Heirs Group, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu for accepting to deliver the key paper, themed “60 Years of Insurance Broking: Redefining the Practice and the Practitioners”. The theme could not have been more apt for our Council and the insurance industry than now, considering the renewed need to reappraise the mode of practice of insurance practitioners towards accelerating their value delivery within the financial ecosystem.  There is no doubt that time is past when we could think of doing the same things and expecting to have the same outcome. It is my believe and that of my team that we would all draw significantly from the rich reservoir of knowledge of Mr. Elumelu, being a top notch global player and an acclaimed frontline business coach.

I must not remiss to note that this event would also be utilized to officially unveil the 60th Anniversary Book and Compendium of Insurance Brokers by our respected Olola Olabode Ogunlana,  Doyen of Insurance Industry in Nigeria and foremost politician and Managing Director of Federal Housing Authority, Senator Gbenga Ashafa. The epic book would no doubt serve as a rich reference material, both for insurance practitioners and everyone desirous of information about the NCRIB and other information relating to insurance broking practice. I call on everyone to support the book project when it is time to do so.

Once again, I welcome everyone and wish you all a resourceful and rewarding event.

Thank you.

Rotimi Edu, mni, FCIB

President & Chairman, Governing Board