THE 49TH PRESIDENT OF CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA ON THE 24TH OF JULY, 2018.
This is one special moment in my life, a rare occasion and the manifestation of
the grace of God. I therefore cannot thank Him enough for all He has done for
me. To me, He has been the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega,
my provider and defence at all times, the all that I need, the all that I want, the one that is worthy of all praise. To Him alone be all the glory, honour and
adoration for ever and ever, Amen.
I am honoured and humbled to be elected as the 49th President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria by the Governing Council and confirmed by
members at the Annual General Meeting of our Institute held on 18th July, 2018 at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. This is a great honour and expression of trust by the members of the Governing Council in particular and all the members of the Institute as a whole. As I stand before you I pledge that I will serve the Institute to the best of my ability and to your delight.
Distinguished members of the Governing Council, our revered Elders and
guests, your presence here to witness my investiture as the 49th President of the Institute is most appreciated. I cannot thank you enough for this expression of love.
Unlike many of my professional colleagues, I will say my incursion into the
Insurance profession was by divine providence. Until my citation was aired a
while ago not many knew that my original desire was to become an
Accountant, a desire which propelled me to study for a first degree in
accounting at the University of Lagos on part-time basis whilst at the same time pursuing professional accountancy certification with the Institute of Certified Accountants UK. This awesome God that we serve and who then knew my tomorrow changed my course of study from part-time Accounting to full-time Insurance midway. The rest is history. Importantly, I have never for once had cause to regret this decision.
In my over three decades in the Insurance Industry, I passed through many
companies as listed in my citation and I have had the privilege of being given
opportunities, encouraged and guided to the path of success by so many people too numerous to recall here. (RECALL: Amos Adeyeye, Joe Madukwe) I am most grateful to you all. It is my prayer that God will reward you according to your heart desires.
The Institute, which was established on the 25th of August, 1959, the same year and month that I was born, has grown steadily and achieved significant
milestones as the educational arm of the Insurance Industry. It therefore
behooves on me to appreciate those who planted the seed, those who nurtured it and the latter generation of professionals who kept the flag flying high. To those who have departed, I pray for the repose of their souls. To the pacesetters who are alive, I pray that God continues to bless you with good health and many more years in the service of the Institute and humanity.
I wish to applaud in particular, the wonderful performance of our immediate
Past President, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye. Her tenure was packed full of
activities and she delivered on all fronts. Once again, Funmi has proven that it
is not by how long but how well. Hence many have described her tenure as 5
in 1 i.e. five years achievements in one year! Well done my dear friend and
colleague and I am most certain that the Institute will forever remember you
for good.
To be elected the President of a Professional body is indeed a privilege which
only few people experience. I therefore understand that while accepting the
honour, I owe a duty to God and you, my professional colleagues, not only to
sustain all past achievements but to ensure the relevance of the Institute to the current realities of our Industry and country. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Corporate Governance, the quality and quantity of our Human Resources are major issues we must continue to address in order to keep our industry relevant. We are conscious of the statutory role of the Institute as the educational arm of the Industry. We have been guided by this fact to arrive at the theme of my presidency which will focus on education and professional development. It is against this background that I have chosen to make ADVANCING INSURANCE EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONALISM the theme of my tenure.
The programmes to be executed under this theme have been carefully selected while being guided by the doctrine of continuity which was institutionalized by my good friend and brother, Past President Bola Temowo. This entails concluding on-going positive projects and policies by successive leaderships in addition to embarking on new projects and plans.
In advancing Insurance education and professionalism, the following projects
will receive my attention. The details of the projects have been documented, but a summary will be appropriate for this gathering:
1 Infrastructural Development at the College of Insurance:
The Institute has achieved so much infrastructural development at the
College of Insurance and Financial Management Studies within a short time. We have to sustain the tempo to make the College the pride of our efforts. It is against this background that we have chosen to commence work on the construction of the Auditorium, complete on-going development of the sporting facilities and furnishing of the Rector’s lodge. These will be the major projects at the College during my tenure, while not neglecting all other areas of need. I cannot but appreciate all Insurance Institutions, Professionals and friends that already have sponsored projects with their names on the Campus. Future generations of practitioners will appreciate your being part of those who gave them a better tomorrow. We shall deploy available resources to make it a reality and also reach out to others to buy into this project.
2 Advancing Insurance Education:
This will be achieved through the following:
- Making the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria Examination more
accessible and affordable for students - Promoting the emergence of a new generation of Insurance
professionals - Reviewing the Insurance Textbook for Secondary Schools
- Institution of Best Graduating Insurance students Awards in accredited
Institutions - Equipping accredited Insurance Departments in Tertiary Institutions
- Re-invigorating and continuing existing programmes on Insurance
Awareness - Accreditation and establishment of new Insurance Programmes/
Department in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria e.g. University of Lagos –
MSC Risk Management, B.Sc. Insurance in Babcock University,
University of Jos amongst others. - Insurance Lectures & Workshops
3 Professional Development
- Collaboration with National Insurance Commission and other arms of the
Industry to enhance post-qualification development of practitioners. - Continuous development of the manpower, process and physical
structure of our Institute to ensure we are responsive and efficient. - Sustain established working relationship with the CII London.
- Standardisation of Insurance Agents Certification
- Introduction of single subjects’ examinations in special areas of practice
to meet the needs of the Industry. This includes Life, Oil and Gas. - Replication of MCPD programmes in other chapters of the Institute.
- Society of Fellows’ Evening
- International Exchange Programme
- Sustaining the Elders’ Forum.
All the above shall be reduced to specific goals and targets with time frames to
be pursued vigorously within the next one year.
CONCLUSION
Distinguished guests, professional colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, in
concluding this speech, permit me to reiterate that as I answer the call to duty
in the service of our Institute, I shall continually uphold the mandate of my oath of allegiance and pledge to serve the Institute selflessly and protect its interest at all times.
Let me at this juncture express my appreciation in particular to the Chairman
of this occasion, Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya, the Commissioner for Insurance,
Alhaji Mohammed Kari, and Management staff of NAICOM, Elders of our
industry, past presidents and council members of Institute, Presidents of Trade bodies in the insurance industry, NIA, NCRIB and ILAN, MDs and Senior management of Insurance Institutions, our distinguished colleagues, friends and relations who came from far and near to witness my swearing-in as the 49th President of our Institute.
To all who contributed to the documentary on me, I want to say a big thank you for your kind words. I am immensely grateful to the Board and Management of CHI Plc for supporting me in my desire to give back to this industry that has given me so much over the years.
To my Investiture Planning Committee ably led by my good friend, brother and past president of the Institute, Mr. Sunny Adeda, and supported past president Bola Temowo, Mrs Yetunde Ilori, Alhaji Saheed Egbeyemi, Mr Segun Omosehin, Sir M O Oyegunle, Mr Bode Opadokun, Mrs Joyce Ojemudia, Mrs Dotun Adeogun, Mr Roland Okoro, Our DG and Staff of the CIIN Secretariat. I am grateful for their tireless efforts at ensuring that this event is successful.
I also thank the gentlemen of the press who are well represented here, for the
good publicity given to today’s epoch event and industry programme.
To my mother who could not be present with us today on account of age, my
brothers, uncles, aunties, nephews and nieces, thank you for bringing me to this world and helping to nurture me to who I have become.
To you my lovely girls, Ejiro, Tejiri and Avwerosuo I am grateful to God for
having you as my children and I thank you for your kind wishes collectively
delivered by Ejis. Just remember that we are on this journey together and I trust you will stand up always to be counted.
To my darling and ever supportive Oghenenyoreh, For 28 years and still
counting by the grace of God, you have been my wife, given me three lovely
girls, cared for me, prayed ceaselessly for my success and wished that I attain
the pinnacle of my career like no one else has done or will do. All these years
you tolerated and managed my absence both at home and beyond to the extent of earning the title of Family Liaison Director. How can I thank you enough as another of your prayer point is being answered today?
Finally, I thank you all for your attention and also for sparing the time off your
very busy schedules to honour me and our Institute at this investiture dinner.
Do enjoy the rest of the evening with us and God bless you all.
Eddie A. Efekoha
President and Chairman of Council
Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria