FRC, Osadebey University VC Highlight Professional Value of Actuarial Studies

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Dennis Osadebey University Asaba (DOU) recently hosted experts and academics from across the country at its Anwai Campus to brainstorm and fashion out modalities for addressing the yawning gap in the supply of certified and professional Actuaries in Nigeria.

The event was part of the Nigerian Actuarial Development Programme (NADP) Advocacy Outreach, an initiative of the Financial Regulations Council (FRC) in Nigeria, aimed at addressing the dearth of Actuarial Science graduates and certified professionals in Nigeria.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ben Oghojafor,  revealed that the university is actively involved in promoting Actuarial Science at both undergraduate and postgraduate or professional courses of study in the institution.

He described the theme of the NADP outreach programme, ‘Building Capacity for Actuarial Excellence’ as apt. He said the DOU was determined to help its “students and future leaders” chart a path of academic and post-training excellence that would give them a competitive edge in the country and even globally.

Oghojafor advised students to stay focused on their studies, which is the essence of their entry into the university through the great sacrifices of their parents and guardians, charging them to avoid being lured into the bad company of those who indulged in hard drugs and other illegal substance abuse.

While appreciating the Financial Regulations Council for the NADP initiative, Oghojafor thanked the council for choosing the DOU for its resourceful and timely outreach, especially against the backdrop of the abysmally low level of awareness of the occupational value and high demand for Actuaries in Nigeria and the world over.

The NADP programme, targeting primarily students in the Faculty of Management Sciences of the university, was attended by more than 500 students, including those of the Actuarial Science Department and others, with the capacity of the Main Auditorium of DOU being outstripped by the enthusiastic students.

Speakers at the event included Titus O. Osawe, Coordinating Director, Directorate of Corporate Governance and Inspection and Monitoring Units of the FRC; Prof Osmaila Adeleke of the University of Lagos; Dr. Martin Osawaru Omorodion of Elizade University, Ondo State; Mr Olasunkanmi Ayinde, who heads FRC’s Directorate of Actuarial Standards, as well as Dr M.S. Ladan, the Head of Department of Actuarial Science, DOU Asaba; and, Prof Irenius Nwaizugbo, Dean of Faculty of Management Sciences of DOU Asaba.

In a keynote titled, ‘What Are Actuaries?’, Adeleke noted that the profession took its roots from bookkeeping, hence the name Actuary derived from ‘Actuarium’, the Latin word for bookkeeping.

In his presentation, Dr Omorodion, who took the audience through the rudiments of qualifying for the relevant series of professional examinations, allayed fears about the seeming difficulty experienced in learning mathematics, revealing that he attempted the examinations while studying mathematics on his own and without the assistance of a teacher.

Head Directorate of Actuarial Standards of the FRC, Mr. Olasunkanmi Ayinde, harped on the council’s motivation for the NADP advocacy initiative, noting that unknown to most Nigerians, qualified and certified Actuaries were in very short supply in Nigeria, including the Insurance Industry where only two professional actuaries exist to service more than 50 insurance companies in the country.