Insurers urged to engage indigenous strategies to fight poverty
Mr. Shola Tinubu, NCRIB President
Insurance operators in Nigeria have been urged to join others in both public and private sectors to engage indigenous strategies and right mindset in fighting against poverty.
The call was made by the Honourable Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Lagos State, Hon. (Mrs) Lola Akande, who was a Guest of Honour, at the 2018 National Insurance Brokers Conference and Exhibition in Lagos recently.
The two-day Conference with the theme and sub-theme “Insurance Industry: Survive, Thrive and Grassroots Development and Poverty Alleviation: Insurance Alternative,” was organized by the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), the umbrella body of all Insurance Brokers in Nigeria.
Hon Akande said the major challenge confronting most developing countries of which Nigeria is one, is poverty.
She said poverty is caused by inaccessibility to basic necessities of life, describing it as a disease that engenders several other problems.
“Poverty is a disease that engenders several other problems like social vices, criminality or emotional challenges. It is always said that poverty leads to criminality going by the fact that a hungry man is not only an angry man but a dangerous fellow.
We must therefore continually as operators in private and public sectors engage indigenous strategies and right mindset to put a stop to several recent reports postulating that Nigeria will soon become the global headquarters of poverty few years from now,” she said.
Hon Akande said Lagos state government on its part is tackling poverty which she described as ‘hydra-headed’ problem through a well coordinated and holistic approach with good successes recorded.
Empowerment, she said, has always been a front burner issue for the past and present leadership in Lagos State having identified that challenges pose by poverty can only be surmounted through empowerment projects and programmes.
Hon. Akande said Lagos State government to further reiterate its commitment to his mandate and promises to the citizenry, the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has provided a veritable platforms upon which various vocational training programme s have been obtained.
Speaking on the challenges faced by insurance industry in Nigeria and the contribution far made by NCRIB, Hon. Akande said: “We are aware that insurance industry has over the years been challenged by several inhibiting factors some of which is poor image leading to poor public acceptability”
The Hon. Commissioner, who commended the leadership of NCRIB for their contributions to the growth of the sector, said “It is on records that the Council has continued to sustain the high ethical and professional standard among its operators in the face of daunting challenges.”
Continuing, “Although all over the world, it is a known fact that regulating roles guiding professional operations is a great task. The Council has recorded some credits in creating a niche and taste for broking practice in Nigeria.”
She expressed optimism that the theme and the sub-theme of the conference was quite apt and will lead the speaker and the presenter to interrogate those factors that are inimical to the industry growth and proffer the needed solution for it to grow.
