Ebere Nwoji
High mortality rate among micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) and the poor state of Nigeria’s economy has been blamed on lack of a viral insurance sector.
The President, Nigeria council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mrs Bola Onigbogi, who stated this during her maiden press briefing in Lagos, recently, also expressed concern over the increasing spate of killings and kidnappings in the country, saying if urgent steps were not taken to stop it, it could deter investors.
Onigbogi, urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency on kidnappings and killings in Nigeria.
“It should be noted that a nation’s economy cannot develop beyond its insurance sector. In other words, the poor state of our nation’s economy today cannot be divorced from the poor state of insurance industry. “For example, most companies that ought to have contributed immensely to the development of the nation are no more in existence, because they could not get succor when the chips were down.
“Many small business owners could not grow beyond a year because they did not factor in insurance from onset. Insurance is key to the development of any nation. It is on that note that I like to appeal to the government to help the industry by taking more strategic position in enforcement of compulsory insurance policies.”
She added: “There must be conscious efforts to continually sensitise members of the public on the importance of insurance. This must start from the top.”
Commenting further on the incessant killings and kidnappings in the country, Onigbogi said: “To say that the rate of killings and kidnapping in Nigeria is endemic is to state the obvious.
“The recent rate of attacks on people in most parts of the nation is so disheartening. It is worrisome seeing how Nigerians are being massacred in their own fatherland unabated.
“We appeal to Mr. President to instruct all the service chiefs to take responsibilities for the killings and kidnappings that has continued to tarnish the image of the country.”
Onigbogi, who also spoke on building collapses in the country, called on the government to take decisive measures to address the issue.
“It is essential for government to facilitate meetings of all stakeholders in order to reach a compromise on methods to adopt in stemming the tide. Kindly permit me to state at this juncture that the enforcement of Section 64 and Section 65 of Insurance Act 2003 should be prioritised”, she expressed.
According to her, the relevance of brokers to insurance industry cannot be undermined, adding that in order to correct this misnomer, her administration will focus on image building and strategic engagement.
She also said in furtherance of her mandate, her administration has continued to engage other professional bodies such as Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (LCCI), Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN), FIRS.
