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By Henry Uche
Worried by the level of poverty ravaging the country, the Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Life Assurance, Niyi Onifade, has called for synergy across board in the fight against poverty as a moral obligation.
Heirs’ Life boss who made this known while delivering the keynote address at the 9th Lagos Public Relations Stakeholders’ Conference recently in Lagos, said a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder collaboration was urgently needed to promote financial inclusion and social welfare to eradicate poverty in the country.
Mr. Onifade who represented the Chairman of Heirs Holdings & Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu at the event joined other dignitaries in a discourse on Leadership and Poverty Eradication.
He called for the adoption of Africapitalism, an economic philosophy propounded by Elumelu in the advocacy for the private and public sectors to collaborate to achieve the unified goal of alleviating poverty and facilitating shared prosperity.
According to him, “African private sector has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments by creating both economic prosperity and social wealth.” He also identified tackling unemployment, promoting financial literacy and inclusion, leadership, governance, and structure, and positioning SMEs to thrive, as critical areas that will significantly impact the push towards poverty alleviation in Nigeria.
Onifade emphasised the importance of life insurance in tackling poverty and improving social welfare. He added, “Access to financial services should not be a privilege; a typical example is life insurance. Contrary to popular opinion, low-income households need life insurance products more. Life insurance can help to cushion the financial impact associated with the loss of a breadwinner. Imagine a country that prioritises life insurance for every household and the guaranteed financial security that comes with this decision. It reduces the burden on government resources.”
