Meet Laide Osijo: Woman lawyer who changed the face of insurance broking

Mounting the saddle of leadership as the president and chairman of Council of the largest insurance broking fraternity in Africa, not many believed that the 60-year-old lawyer and mother, Laide Osijo, had the energy and courage to oversee the over 500-member body of the Nigerian Council of the Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB).

Being the first female president of the 50-year-old association, she had in her hands the onerous task of completing the Council’s four storey house on Moleye Street, Yaba, which had been started by her predecessor, and also bring the Council to maturity to happily celebrate its golden jubilee anniversary. Having taken over from Teslim Sanusi on July 13, 2011, Osijo, like the word of Jim Collins, foremost writer and author, “Confrontation of Brutal Facts,” took the bull by the horn, bringing fame to NCRIB to the extent that it became a reference point for other bodies within and outside the insurance industry.

Also, before her was the challenge of funding and the membership drive for the Council that before her tenure was largely influenced by a cabal of persons and companies practising the same profession who were almost untouchable; but Osijo in her humility won them over.

Moving forward therefore was to find a means to bring everyone under the control of the NCRIB for professionalism and good ethical conduct, and this is seen today as one of her significant achievements in office.

With the NCRIB law backing her drive, she got the unalloyed support of Fola Daniel, the insurance commissioner, who made sure that before any broker gets NAICOM license to operate, they must first be a registered member of the NCRIB.

While this singular achievement did not only boost support and funding for NCRIB projects during Osijo’s term billed to end later this month, the Council has become stronger and more relevant in the country’s insurance sector.Laide Osijo is the managing director/chief executive officer of Plum Insurance Brokers and the principal partner of Laide Osijo & Associates. A graduate of Insurance at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, apart from obtaining a Law degree and a Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Lagos, she is an associate member of both the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and Nigeria and also a fellow member of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB).

She began her career with Marine & General Insurance Company Limited, Lagos in 1972 and has worked in various capacities in the insurance industry. Amongst these companies are Great Nigeria Insurance Company plc and Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, where she trained at various times in insurance underwriting, reinsurance and insurance brokerage. She was trained abroad at the Munich Reinsurance Company and the Cologne Reinsurance Company; both in Germany and Steward Wrightson Insurance Brokers, London.

Reviewing her two years in office to insurance journalists in Lagos, Osiojo stated that like every human endeavour, her administration was dogged with great challenges, but with the support of all members, she turned all the perceived obstacles into stepping stones for remarkable success.

“What we have done in the last two years was to, against all odds, build a strong institution that will outlive all of us. The onus is therefore on our members to sustain the process through our collective efforts.

“Emerging leaders of the Council must therefore see themselves as being under obligation to deliver quality service to members, while the followers have the right to demand for dedication and efficient service delivery from those who thrust themselves to lead.”

Other achievements of the Osijo-led administration beyond attainment of sound professionalism for insurance brokerage in Nigeria and completion of the NCRIB House includes strengthening and empowerment of Area Committees; inauguration of Legal Committees; manpower development for members and staff of the secretariat and improvement of government and institutional relationships.

Other achievements include intellectual development of members; maiden Investment Platform for Insurance Brokers; opening of Business Vistas for Members and Institution of Associateship qualification which strives to open windows of opportunity for non-brokers to be part of the profession. “In a bid to fully maximise the provision of the NCRIB Act regarding membership, my administration conceived the idea of a window of opportunity for would-be associates of the Council. The exercise has given opportunity to insurance practitioners who possess the associateship qualification of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) or its equivalent, with no fewer than two years experience in the insurance industry to apply.

This exercise has broadened the individual membership base of the Council with a view to extending the frontiers of insurance brokerage practice in Nigeria, Osijo disclosed.