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Former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, insurance icon, lawyer and university teacher, Prof. Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu, died recently at the age 89. The deceased contributed immensely to the development of insurance industry in Africa and taught the course in some universities. He played a vital role in the Ohanaeze Ndigbo to the extent that he later became its President.
His death on July 7, 2023, was announced by Prince Harrison Eze Okorie, the President-General of Amaokwe Item Welfare Union, Abia State. As a prolific author, Irukwu published so many works about the insurance industry in Africa. He was the founding Managing Director of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation. He also founded African Development Insurance Company, which was later sold to the defunct Diamond Bank.
Irukwu was born on July 20, 1934. He obtained a degree in Law and Insurance from a British university in 1962. He later worked with West African Provincial Insurance Company, a British firm operating out of Lagos. From his position as a legal adviser, he rose within the firm and joined the managerial cadre of the firm’s insurance department in 1965. Irukwu was appointed the chief executive officer of Unity Life and Fire Insurance Company in 1970 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. 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. Before 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 talent 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. He was involved in developing training programmes at the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) and at the West African Insurance Institute. His published works included Insurance Law and Practice in Nigeria (1967), Accident and Motor Insurance in West Africa (1974), Insurance Management in Africa (1976) and Nigeria at the Crossroads: A Nation in Transition (1974). His Nation Building and Ethnic Organization: A Case Study of Ohanaeze in Nigeria, published by Spectrum, is said to be highly fascinating and scholarly by the academic community. Aside insurance and publishing where he made great marks, Irukwu offered dedicated and selfless service to Ohanaeze Ndigbo and ensured stability in the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization throughout his reign. In recognition of his laudable achievements in the insurance industry and national development, the federal government honoured him with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM). He was a role model and an inspiration to many people in Nigeria and beyond.
In a fitting tribute, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, described the late Ohanaeze leader as “one of the builders of modern Nigeria” and regretted that Irukwu, did not wait to see the “Nigerian dream” project both had planned together come to life. “He (Irukwu) was expressing great hope for his country through this initiative, but unfortunately, he didn’t wait to see our collective rigorous efforts on the project being brought to fruition,” Obasanjo lamented. The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo described the late leader as an accomplished legal luminary, moral edifice, insurance and risk management wizard and erudite scholar of world renown.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chiedozie Ogbonnia, before the expiration of his tenure, Irukwu led other Igbo leaders to commission a multi-million-naira complex comprising a 1,500-seater auditorium, a library and a conference room which he built single-handedly. He contributed s much in the development of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation.
No doubt, Irukwu was a great leader and an accomplished intellectual and insurance guru. His contribution to the founding of Abia State University as a pioneer member of the Governing Council was tremendous. Based on his immense contributions to the development of the insurance industry, we urge the federal government to immortalise him. We commiserate with his family and the insurance sector over the great loss. May God grant him eternal rest.
