Prof Joe Irukwu: The passing of an insurance colossus

KELVIN EGERUE

If there is an individual who qualifies as the face of insurance industry in Nigeria it will be no other person than Professor Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu, an insurance enigma whose footprints on the nation’s insurance landscape will be absolutely impossible to erase.

Those who have the privilege of studying the growth and development of insurance in Nigeria either as a business or a profession will acknowledge Joe Irukwu as the grandmaster of the game of insurance, risk management and underwriting as he devoted much energy and resources in nurturing not only the industry to its present commanding height but also in growing the body of insurance practitioners.

 

There was this joke among the first generation insurance practitioners in Nigeria that you need to be identified as part of Joe Irukwu boys for you to scale through a job interview for a management position in any insurance company in Nigeria.

 

With the industry carving the pet name of Mr Insurance on him, Prof Irukwu was indeed among the breed of insurance practitioners which included the late Talabi Braithwaite, Ogeni Ogunlana, Chief J. Akin George, Sunny Odogwu, Erelu Aina, Ogbueshi Felix Nwokolo, among others who consciously defined and indeed personified ethical conducts in insurance business for he practiced insurance in absolute observance of its prescribed principles hence his high degree of success as a practitioner. It is worthy of note that Prof. Irukwu led the first ever insurance delegation to any Nigerian president; that was in 1993 when Margret Koshoni, the wife of the then Chief of Naval Staff Patrick Koshoni  midwife a visit to the then Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (Retd) in Abuja.

 

It is therefore understandable that the nation’s insurance industry and all its stakeholders including institutions and agencies of government are united in mourning the death of Prof. Joe Irukwu whose death occurred on Friday, July 7, 2023. He was aged 89.

 

Born on July 20, 1934, Irukwu was a Nigerian insurance executive, lawyer, lecturer and author who wrote published works about the insurance industry in Africa.

 

He was also a former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex ethno-political and social group that represents the interest of Igbos in the Nigerian polity.

 

Irukwu was the founding Managing Director of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, a mega reinsurance company which contributed immensely in checking against the outflow of foreign exchange in Nigeria through reinsurance considering that Irukwu and Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation succeeded in ensuring the domestication of some categories of insurance businesses in Nigeria.

 

Truly, Joe Irukwu was the person who built the 21- storey Reinsurance House on 46 Marina Lagos. A path finder in every respect, Irukwu  in 1989 founded African Development Insurance Company (ADIC), a company which was later acquired by Diamond Bank.

 

“With deepest gratitude to God we formally announce the passing unto glory of our father, brother and uncle, Professor Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu SAN, OON, on Friday 7 July 2023 at the age of 89 years. As we reflect on a life hallmarked by duty and service, we fix our gaze firmly on our merciful Heavenly Father who gave him the grace to serve in such an exemplary manner.

 

Prof. Irukwu was instrumental to the establishment of the insurance industry in Nigeria. The founding managing director of the Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, his influence in his chosen field extended to the African continent and globally. He authored several landmark books on insurance and commentaries on Nigeria.  A former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the socio-cultural organisation representing the interests of the Igbos, he was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and an elder statesman.

 

Prof. Irukwu was renowned for his wisdom, mentoring thousands who saw him as a father figure. He was a stabilising influence in his local community and nationally.

 

His contributions are incalculable”, Pastor Agu Irukwu had remarked while formally announcing the death of Joe Irukwu.

 

Already, the various insurance bodies and trade associations in the country including the Nigerian Insurers Association, an umbrella body of insurance chief executive officers for which he was a founding member are diminished by the death of Irukwu. President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Edwin Igbiti who described Irukwu as a hero said that his contributions would be greatly missed.

 

He noted that Irukwu was the only Prof the institute had and that he greatly contributed to the growth and development of the institute.

 

Joe Irukwu earned everything that was attached to him. He was a much of an insurance scholar as he was of a diligent practitioner. He obtained his degree in Law and Insurance from a British university in 1962. Upon returning to Nigeria, he found employment with West African Provincial Insurance Company, a British firm operating out of Lagos.

 

Originally, a legal adviser, he rose within the firm and joined the managerial cadre of the firm’s insurance department in 1965. In 1970, he was appointed chief executive officer of Unity Life and Fire Insurance Company and it was while working at Unity that his profile began to rise.

 

In 1972, the government appointed him head of the Student Loans Board, a committee with the responsibility to disburse loans to thousands of students. And in 1977, Irukwu became the pioneer chief executive of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, a government owned business established to increase the local share of reinsurance premium income.

 

Prior to the establishment of the firm, insurance firms in Nigeria, conducted reinsurance transactions with foreign companies. To boost the local insurance market and reduce foreign exchange out-flow, the government founded Nigerian Re.

 

The new firm was given the right of first refusal for any reinsurance transaction to be conducted in Nigeria. One of Irukwu’s main challenges was to recruit and train talents in a line of business that was new to Nigeria.

 

The firm engaged foreign institutions in the training of workers and sponsored a training school in Lagos.In the early 1970s, Irukwu began to conduct lectures in Actuarial Science at University of Lagos. In addition, he was involved in developing training programs at the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) and at the West African Insurance Institute.

 

Irukwu published his first book, ‘Insurance Law and Practice in Nigeria’ in 1967 and his second book, ‘Accident and Motor Insurance in West Africa’ was published in 1974. His third book, ‘Insurance Management in Africa’ was published in 1976.It is not as if it is government and the business community that is in grief over the death of Prof. Irukwu as his kinsmen are already flying its flag at half mast.

 

Prince Harrison Eze Okorie, President General, Amaokwe Item Welfare Union of Abia State had observed that  “The Amaokwe Item Welfare Union on behalf of entire Amaba Ukwu kindred and the immediate family hereby announce the glorious but painful demise of our great patron, father, grandfather, son and brother Prof.Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu,SAN, CFR.

 

“The Union on behalf of Amaokwe community commiserates with the family and pray to God to grant his soul peaceful rest.

 

“The Union enjoins all Amaokwe sons and daughters to mourn the exit of this giant as we also remember to uphold his family in prayers in this moment of grief,” he added.