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Tag: founder

  • AFN Brokers at 25 celebrates founder, Ogunbanjo at 92

    AFN Brokers at 25 celebrates founder, Ogunbanjo at 92

    It was double celebration at AFN Brokers Limited in Lagos on Thursday when the firm hit 25 years of doing robust insurance business in the country.

    The firm also celebrated its founder and business mogul Chief Chris Ogunbanjo who will be 93 this year with the institution of a yearly lecture in his honour.

    Chairman of the occasion Pastor Felix Ohiwerei described the event as auspicious, noting that it was to celebrate the greatness of Chief Ogunbanjo for his giant strides in business and numerous contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria.

    AFN Brokers Chairman Ogunbanjo said he started the firm in January 1991 with a a solid capital base, state-of -the-art equipment and qualified staff, noting that over the years, despite the turbulent business terrain, the firm has able to weather the storm and prove itself as a formidable broker in insurance.

    He noted that all those who founded the firm were alive. He thanked the stakeholders, staff and clients for their dedication, adding that without their support, the company would not have survived.

    Guest lecturer, Mr Oye Odukale debunked the view that insurance firms do not pay claims. He said: “Insurance firms are paying a lot of claims. It is a contract and you are bound to pay. We do pay even major claims – both in foreign and local currencies. But most people do not believe and those paid o not talk about it. If you do not pay claims, they are regulators are there, adding that they aggrieved client could report a defaulting firm.”

    Odukale, who is the Managing Director, LeadWay Assurance scored AFN Brokers high, describing the broker as a reliable ally in business.

    He also scored the sector high, noting that insurance is growing in Nigeria. He said insurance firms were  getting more creative and unveiling new products. “Soon, “ he declared, “ you will see the influx of new products, subject to NAICOM|s approval.“

    AFN Brokers Managing Director John Oladeji Alabi described his boss and celebrator as nice. He recalled that he joined the firm at inception after a rigorous interview an rose through the ranks over the years. He said the firm was built on trust and goodwill, assuring that the future was bright.

    At the event were captains of industry, including the directors of AFN Brokers –Dr Michael Omolayole; Ambassador Omotayo Ogunsunlire and Chief Frank Akinrele, (SAN). Others were Sir Remi Omotoso and former NTA Director-General Vincent Maduka.

  • Rosabon celebrates 23 years, empowers women

      As part of programmes to mark its 23rd anniversary, Nigeria’s award winning non-banking finance institution, Rosabon Financial Services has entered into a strategic partnership with a non government organisation, NGO Mamamoni, to empower 23 women with soft grants and capacity building.

    This is part of Rosabon’s efforts at encouraging women empowerment and promoting indigenous production. The women who are involved in various crafts including farming, fashion designing, soap making, fish farming and other chemical productions got the grant to further expand their businesses.

    Rosabon has consistently played a critical role at driving SME growth in Nigeria, a trend that has attracted it an international recognition recently where it won an award as Nigeria’s ‘Best SME Financial Advisory 2015’ from CFI.co.

    The training and provision of grant to the selected women is part of Rosabon’s commitment at supporting local business to boost local production and grow the economy.

    At the cheque presentation at Satellite Town, Lagos on Monday, the 23 women expressed gratitude and satisfaction for the support received from Rosabon.

    Speaking on the empowerment initiative and partnership with Mamamoni, Rosabon’s CEO, Chukwuma Ochonogor said they were inspired by Rosabon’s passion for deepening access to financial services, especially as a means to tackling the menace of poverty among the unbanked.

    He noted that the company has championed financial inclusion in Nigeria through its several innovative products targeted at the non-banking population, adding that the partnership with Mamamoni is to continue its drive at deepening financial inclusion in the country.

    According to Ochongor, “Women are becoming great players in the economy, so it is very important that they get the right empowerment. At Rosabon, we have a societal outlook and recognize the importance of working together for the greater good. We are fully committed to this project and will keep it on for as long as possible.”

    He added: “This anniversary celebration is more about reflecting on our past and realizing what the future has in store for our great company while making our communities better places, hence the need for this project.”

    Also speaking, Founder, Mamamoni, Nkem Okocha said: “We are very delighted that Rosabon Financial Services chose to give 23 of our women business grant to grow their businesses. With this money, they can buy raw materials in large quantity to increase their supply and this will increase their livelihood income. My prayer is that Rosabon will continue to partner with us, so we can reach more women and help them break the cycle of poverty.”

     

  • Founder clocks 77

    It was a celebration galore as workers and students of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State trooped out to honour the founder of the university, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo during his 77th birthday.

    They demonstrated their appreciation to the septuagenarian in many ways.

    Basketball, football, and tennis competitions were organised by the Institution’s Sports Unit in his honour to bring members of the university and host communities together. In Tennis, Ojo Bayode, a 200-Level Business Administration student defeated Mr. Enoch Adeagbo, a Network Engineer in the Information Technology Unit of the university 6-0, 6-3, 6-3 to win the prize.

    In football, pupils of Community Comprehensive High School, Ilara-Mokin defended the trophy by defeating students of Wexford College, Akure on penalty.

  • Honour for founder

    Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State has bagged the Southwest Media Excellence Award as the outstanding private university in the region.

    The Nomination Coordinator of the Southwest Nigeria Media Awards, Dr. Ifeoluwa Osundare, said Elizade University emerged winner of the award after “a thorough and extensive voting  conducted among media houses and publics across major cities in the Southwest Nigeria”.

    According to him, the varsity has endeared itself to many Nigerians through its incentives for students.

    In a statement, the Senior Coordinator of the awards, Pastor Honey Olawale, urged the varsity to maintain the standard that earned it the honour.

     

     

  • Schools should produce thinkers, says founder

    Schools should produce thinkers, says founder

    Beyond transferring knowledge and skills, President of the Lagos City Polytechnic, Mr Babatunde Odufuwa, has said schools should teach students to think.

    Odufuwa, who said this at the eighth commencement of the institution held at the LTV8 Blue Roof, Agidingbi, last Friday, said if schools can produce thinkers, then more problems would be solved in the society.

    He said: “Before now literacy used to be defined using three indicators- ability to read, ability to write, and ability to do arithmetic.  Now literacy has gone beyond learning.  Schools now should be designed not only for ‘learning’ but for thinking.  More and more insistently, today’s schools and colleges are being asked to produce men and women who can think, who can make new scientific discoveries, who can find more adequate solutions to impending world problems, who cannot be brainwashed; men and women who can adapt to change and maintain sanity in this age of acceleration.  This is a creative challenge to education.”

    Addressing the 816 graduands from the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 academic sessions that collected their scrolls at the event, Odufuwa urged them to create value for their future employers by solving problems.

    “It is only by adding value that you can justify your being in an organisation.  Think of and do things that can promote the interest of the organisation as no employer will tolerate liabilities.  Your fruit is your contribution to life,” he said.

    Delivering the convocation lecture entitled: Enhancing the standard of tertiary education in Nigeria, Michael Olulenu, an Abuja-based tax analyst, counseled the Federal Government to eliminate all forms of dichotomy in tertiary education.

    Olulenu, who was represented by Mr Olaniyi Azeez, argued that if Auchi Polytechnic could be ranked the second best tertiary institution in Nigeria by Webometric ranking of world universities, then all tertiary institutions can succeed if given equal opportunities by the government.

    “The dichotomy in some tertiary certification should be eliminated at the national level. If a polytechnic can be rated second among tertiary institutions in Nigeria, it means that according polytechnics the same status as the universities may be more fruitful,” he said.

    The convocation lecturer also warned against the negative impact of strike on Nigeria’s education system, urging unions to seek alternative measures to get government attention.

    “Industrial action as a tool for getting government attention should be instrument of last resort; it should not be used as often as it is currently being used.  The effect of long school closure on the life and psyche of the students and their parents and guardians cannot be quantified,” he said.

    Special prizes were awarded to students who excelled in the six programmes run by the institution at National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) levels.  Omowunmi Oloyede shone brightest among all the scholars, finishing with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.86 in Business Administration and Management.