The chairman board of trustees, Adetunji Ogunkanmi Foundation, Mrs Funmi Babington-Ashaye, has in a persuasive and sterling manner, charged the insurance stakeholders to “embrace fresh ideas and better ways of doing things.” The reason she adduced for this is to keep the industry on track “to retain our tuff.”
Babington-Ashaye who welcomed guests to the webinar in honour of Adetunji Ogunkanmi, charged insurance professionals not to loose sight of what is going on in other sectors of the economy and beyond the shores of Nigeria. With a mind picture of global changes, she urged insurance professionals to “note that the insurance industry, just like other dynamic industries, must keep evolving in order to serve its diverse stakeholders better.”
With the theme “FinTech and the Future of Insurance,” Babington-Ashaye said the event would hopefully “provide us one opportunity to harvest such fresh ideas.”
She noted that if Ogunkanmi were alive, he would have been among the champions leading the crusade for the digital reconstruction of all of human endeavours that is now in vogue. Calling for a hook, line and sinker approach to the new dimension of digital disruption and transformation, the foundation chairman said: “Except we embrace and utilise these technology to continually create value, our industry will loose its relevance. No one desires this. Here lies the propriety of the theme of today’s lecture.”
She reminded guests that, “The emerging revolution in the world of technology has impacted the way we source for business, the way we package our products and how we deliver services to our clients. Even the way we work has been changed.”
On the foundation genesis, she recalled that it was set up a few years ago by ex-staff of Cornerstone Insurance, including those who came after the demise of Ogunkanmi, the founding managing director chief executive. She said this is the second memorial lecture to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. The first was in 2017, followed by a delegation of ex-staff who paid a visit to the aged in Ile Ogbo, Osun State, in 2018.
In 2019, she said a 5km charity walk was organised as a way of keeping his ideals alive “as he was an avid sportsman during his life time.” At the end of the walk, a donation of office equipment was made to his alma mater, the actuarial science and insurance department, University of Lagos.
Babington-Ashaye, said the foundation is projecting for more: “In the months ahead, more laudable projects, which are presently under consideration, will hopefully be executed by the Foundation.”
