{The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Industrial and General Insurance Plc (IGI) and immediate past Chairman of the umbrella body for insurance and reinsurance companies, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA); Mr. Remi Olowude is dead.
Reliable insurance industry sources told THISDAY that Olowude died in a hospital in the United States of America yesterday after a protracted illness.
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Olowude deployed his international business expertise, professionalism and vision to build a conglomerate with interests in various business sectors spanning financial services, telecommunications, oil and gas, mortgage banking and aviation.
The deceased was Chief Executive Officer of IGI and the Chairman of National Insurance Corporation Limited, a publicly quoted company in Uganda. He was also the Co-chairman of SONARWA Holdings, which owns separate life and general insurance companies in Rwanda.
An associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London, Olowude had a Masters Degree in Economics and had completed the coursework for the award of a Doctorate degree from the University of Santa Clara, California, USA before his death today.
His last insurance industry outing was during the interactive session between the members of the governing board of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and insurance industry operators in Lagos in March 11, 2014.
As the leader of the insurance industry at the meeting, Olowude canvassed a bail-out for insurance companies.
Reacting to Olowude’s death, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State said “it was a big blow to the insurance world, the state and Nigeria as a whole.
In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, Aregbesola said the late insurance guru was an invaluable asset in the insurance sector.
Aregbesola said Olowude’s death has undoubtedly robbed the nation and insurance sector of another great personality.
“The death of Olowude is a sad one for us in Osun. Here is a man of immense qualities, which he had employed to promote everything ideal in his lifetime.
“Olowude, unarguably, distinguished himself in the insurance and business sector to the extent that his name became a household name across the country.
“Throughout his sojourn on the earthly surface, he distinguished himself as a man of immense wealth, a perfect gentle man and an Omoluabi per excellence, which is what Osun epitomises.
“There is therefore, no gainsaying the fact that Olowude’s exit would create a huge gap in the business and insurance sector in Nigeria.
“I, on behalf of the government and people of Osun offer our heartfelt condolences to the immediate and extended families of deceased as well as the insurance family.
“We pray that the Almighty God repose his gentle soul in paradise,” Aregbesola said.
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