ADDRESS BY MR FATAI KAYODE LAWAL, PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA, AT THE INSTITUTE’S 2013 GRADUATION AND AWARDS CEREMONY HELD ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 5, 2013 AT 10 DEGREES EVENTS CENTRE, IKEJA, LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA.

 

ADDRESS BY MR FATAI KAYODE LAWAL, PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA, AT THE INSTITUTE’S 2013 GRADUATION AND AWARDS CEREMONY HELD ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 5, 2013 AT 10 DEGREES EVENTS CENTRE, IKEJA, LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA.

 

PROTOCOLS

 

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to welcome you all most heartily to the 2013 Graduation and awards ceremony of our Institute. This ceremony shall award Associateship and Fellowship certificate to our members who have painstakingly earned this certificate after years of studying and examination. Awards shall also be given to candidates that excelled in the professional examinations of the Institute. Today’s event also mark a significant milestone in the annals of our Institute with the epoch-making presentation of the book “Insurance for Secondary Schools” published by the institute.

 

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, today’s graduation and awards ceremony is the outcome of the Governing Council’s ratification of the award of the Institute Fellowship to 14 deserving members and the election of 158 members as Associates of the Institute after satisfying the stipulated requirements. Let me also state that the Institute has successfully demonstrated its commitment to the actualization of its three-tier examination structure which allows qualifiers at each level of the examination to obtain a certificate of completion.  Ours, no doubt, is a flexible and learner-friendly examination structure geared at motivating greater interest in the attainment of professional qualification.

 

I wish to state that the responsibilities conferred on our Institute by statute have continued to engender a veritable platform for the propagation of insurance education in Nigeria.  In particular, the Institute’s professional examinations have become deep-rooted and have, since 1992, produced professionals who have continued to perform creditably in their various endeavours.

 

Let me emphasize the determination of the Institute to continually strengthen the examination system through regular review of its syllabus and examination structure.  We are conscious of the changing dynamics and emerging challenges in the Industry with new and complex human capital needs.  The challenges facing the insurance industry today not only require a fresh impetus in human capital development but also a renewed vigor and approach to skills recreation in order to adequately equip practitioners for the huge tasks of managing the current realities in the environment.

 

As I welcome the graduands, awardees and distinguished guests to this year’s graduation and awards ceremony, I feel elated by the growing enthusiasm for the acquisition of professional insurance qualification and the abiding consciousness in embracing professionalism in the business and practice of insurance. I therefore offer my heathy congratulations to all our graduands on behalf of the Governing council and the entire membership of our institute. We are all proud of you and I know your parents, spouse, children, and friends are also proud of your achievement. I pray that the good Lord make it the beginning of more glorious things in your lives.

 

No doubt, the professional qualification of the institute is a source of pride for all holders. Our graduands today have also accepted a greater burden of responsibility as custodians of the ethics and codes of practice of our noble profession.  They will constantly be reminded of the oath of allegiance to uphold and defend the fundamental principles of insurance practice as well as their vows to be of good conduct at all times.

 

I must advice at this juncture that the attainment of professional qualification should not be seen as the end of your studies but a stepping-stone to grow your career.  I will therefore charge all graduands to embrace continuous learning as a means of enhancing their knowledge and skills in coping with the rapidly changing complexity of our environment.  The Insurance industry is faced with a need to deepen insurance market penetration and cope with emerging risks brought about by changing natural and social circumstances.

 

It therefore beholds all holders of professional qualifications to be mindful of the efficacy of Continuous Professional Development (CPD).  As you are aware, the CPD has become institutionalized with varying degrees of enforcement by most professions.  In our own case, it engenders a scheme, which requires all members to locate themselves in the point-scoring index referred to by our Institute as the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme. No professional should exempt himself or herself from this scheme under any guise.  The MCPD is, unarguably, an inalienable part of our professional development and should be treated as such. It is also pertinent to state that all professionally qualified members of the Institute are required to attain a minimum of 40 credit points every year under the MCPD scheme. It is infact one of the conditions for attaining the fellowship of the institute.

 

Permit me to reiterate the policy of our Council to the effect that all Certificates issued by the Institute remain the Institute’s property and could be withdrawn from the holders if the Institute has good reason to do so.  Let me state unequivocally that the Institute reserves the right to withdraw its certificate from any holder, if it discovers any breach of the examination process.  A further reason for such withdrawal of certificates could emanate from acts unexpected of a holder of the Institute’s professional qualification. I know none of our graduands today will give the institute reason to withdraw the certificate.

 

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, our Institute is continually committed to the actualization of its statutory responsibilities as enshrined in Decree No: 22 (Now Act) of 1993 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Chief of these is the determination of the standards of skill and knowledge for the ethical and professional delivery of insurance services in Nigeria. Therefore, the promotion of insurance education which is a focal point of our current Council is not only a key to unlocking the huge potentials of our industry but also a means of opening the doors of our profession to the younger generation who represent the insurance practitioners of tomorrow.

 

Consequently the institute shall at this ceremony present to the public a book titled “Insurance for Secondary Schools” which offers another unique opportunity for advancing one of the cardinal programmes of our Governing Council in the Promotion of Insurance Education in Nigeria. It will also herald a new dawn in Insurance Education by entrenching insurance in the consciousness of secondary school students, who are the future leaders of our Nation.

 

Although the production of the book was an initiative of the Governing Council, I must give credit to the team of writers who worked assiduously to make the book a reality. They are;

 

·        Mr. Obinna Chilekezi

·        Mr. Femi Ajigbo

·        Mr. Amos Olaniran

·        Mr. Agboola Akolade

·        Mr. Kunle Aduloju

·        Dr, Sarafa Raji

·        Mr. Austin Isimoya

·        Mr. Ezekiel Chiejina

 

I will also like to recognize the team of reviewers and editors; Messers Victor Adeyemi, Moshood Akinyemi, Mrs Folashade Moronkeji, Joseph Obah, and Ebun Ayeni. The Institute secretariat ably led by our new Director General, Mr. Kola Ahmed provided the necessary administrative support for the realization of the project. The Governing Council is also immensely grateful to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for the encouragement and financial support received in producing the book.

 

I am pleased to announce that our Council has approved the donation of three copies of the book to each of the over 2,000 Public Secondary Schools in Nigeria. This, we believe is a significant step in the current campaign to facilitate the teaching and learning of Insurance in secondary schools.

 

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, your own contribution will be to help this book found space in every home in Nigeria by buying copies for your own secondary school, that of your spouse, and your children, and the schools in your neighborhood. By so doing, you will be helping the institute to recover the cost of producing the book, which is N4million.

 

Finally, I like to thank the organizers of this ceremony, the membership and professional standard committee of the council led by our indefatigable past president Adeyemo Adejumo, and the entire secretariat staff for a job well done.

 

On behalf of the Governing Council, I wish to welcome you once again to the 2013 Graduation and Awards Ceremony and thank you for honouring our invitation to be a part of this historic event. Today is certainly a happy day for me as I share in the joy of all our graduands for the fulfillment of their dream. I know that this certificate will take each of you to a new level and look forward to seeing you at the Top.

 

Thank you all for your attention.

 

 

 

FATAI KAYODE LAWALFCII, FIIN

President/Chairman of Council

CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA