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There was a rekindling of the spirit of comradeship as alumnus of Insurance and Actuarial Science Students(set 89) of the University of Lagos converged on the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Research Centre of the University to celebrate one of their classmates, Kunle Aduloju, who was recently elevated to the post of a Professor.
The alumni members had chosen an intellectual and professional discourse themed “Developing insurance and financial inclusion: Developing insurance products for informal sector” which was delivered by Dr Biodun Adedipe of B.Adedipe Associates Consult Ltd. Discussants were drawn from the academia and the professional circle.
In his submission, Adedipe said financial inclusion is better situated within the context of the informal sector which constitutes 52 per cent of the country’s GDP while 99 per cent of registered businesses in Nigeria are MSMEs, along side hordes of Nano enterprises.
While noting that the informal sector should be a major target for financial inclusion, Adedipe said “the informal sector is a bundle of challenges and opportunities for economic growth, poverty alleviation and efficient transmission of policies.”
Adedipe said the micro insurance network and inclusive insurance is targeted at about 6.5 billion persons in the world who are vulnerable to sicknesses, illnesses, job losses or have their business premises destroyed or damaged by floods or fire.
He lamented that there was a huge gap between losses of life and property that are insured and those that were not. “The gap is valued at US$1.42 trillion globally representing economic value of health care, ultimately death and climatic disasters”, Adedipe averred.
In his speech, the President of the 89 set of the Insurance and Actuarial Science Department, Dr Henry Ationu underscored the need for a meeting point between the Town and Gown, through efforts of Alumni associations for the promotion of wholesome education crystalising in progress of the nation.
Ationu opined that the gathering was convoked to celebrate the sterling accomplishment of their colleague and classmate, Professor Kunle Aduloju who was recently elevated to the position of a Professor in the university.
The Chairman of the occasion, Mrs Yetunde Ilori, an alumus of the university and Director General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), opined that the Nigerian insurance industry could enhance its growth frontiers by placing premium on enhancement of financial inclusion development of products that could meet the yearnings of consumers of insurance.
She said it is regretful that despite the strident efforts of the industry operators to grow the industry, the efforts had only yielded paltry result as reflected in the industry’s contribution to the country’s GDP, calling for more ingenuity and creativity by the operators.
Responding, Professor Aduloju was appreciative of the gesture and emphasised the need for constant engagement between the institutions of learning and their products to enhance knowledge sharing and cohesion.
Goodwill messages were also delivered by the President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr Edwin Igbiti and Deputy President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Mr Tunde Oguntade, on behalf of their respective institutions.
