BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR–The Doyen of Insurance Industry, Olola Olabode Ogunlan has charged Professional Insurance Ladies Association, (PILA), on the need to uphold sanity in the insurance industry.
Ogunlana, Chairman of SCIB Insurance Brokers Limited and oldest insurance operator in Nigeria made the remark when the Executives of PILA in company of the past presidents and elders of the Association, paid a courtesy visit to the Doyen in recognition of his contributions during PILA’s 50th Anniversary as the Chief Launcher.
Speaking at the visit he said dedication to duty must be encouraged in order to achieve the desired goal.
He emphasised the importance of women as team builder and the need to leverage on this in driving growth in the insurance industry.
While calling for continuous education of members, practitioners and the public as a priority in the industry.
He also urged the Association to put the house in order and enshrine unity in all way.
Olola Olabode Ogunlana, B.A. (Hons), M.A., M.B.A. is a Chartered Insurance Practitioner. He was the first Nigerian Managing Director of the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria. In 1975 Ogunlana set-up SCIB Nigeria Insurance Limited, which is a highly successful insurance broking and consulting firm.
Olola Ogunlana was born in Ogere-Remo, Ogun State and brought up by his parents (his father was a schoolmaster).
Olola Ogunlana is a life-long learner and following a 50-year long and highly successful career as a chartered insurer, he has returned to school many times: to an Italian academy to study painting; to Oxford University’s summer school for a Creative Writing and Poetry course; as well as for Bachelors and Masters degrees in English Literature at Buckingham University.
Since his retirement from active insurance work, he has devoted much time to the study of Yoruba culture and language. Whilst studying in the U.K, Olola Ogunlana had discussions with the academic community on how best to translate the rich Yoruba folklores into English to appeal to an international audience.
The result are the two recently-published books – The Quest for Rare the Leaf and Other Yoruba Tales and Yoruba Love Series – in which, Olola Ogunlana translated centuries-old Yoruba oral folklore into English, thereby making it more accessible to a global and modern set of readers.
Olola Ogunlana is also a former chief commissioner of Boys Scout of Nigeria.