Old Mutual CEO canvasses insurance for Nigeria to meet SDG on education

BY ANITA OKORO

Nigeria’s education sector remains under the shadows of world beating levels despite recent improvements in budgetary allocations from 5.2 percent in 2021 to 7.2 percent in 2022. The percentage allocation falls below countries spending some 15 percent to 20 percent percent of their budgets on education.

For Nigeria to raise its contribution to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on universal education by 2030, there must be an intensified adoption of insurance plans which play a critical role as functional enablement tools, Olusegun Omosehin, managing director, Old Mutual Nigeria, a general and life insurance solutions firm, has said.

Speaking on the inaccessibility of education to millions of children across the country and its numerous daunting implications on the affected families, Omosehin explained that lack of funding from parents and guardians largely accounts for the inaccessible education by millions of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

“In many cases, these children are either orphans or without a breadwinner capable of uninterrupted funding for their schooling. All too often, we have all heard of a child who dropped out of school following the death of a parent or guardian,” he added.

On how to proactively engender a sustainable and secure financial position to ensure sustainable access to education for Nigerian children, Omosehin opined that by leveraging the numerous benefits of insurance, parents and guardians can be certain that with or without their presence, the futures of their children, wards, and dependents are secure.

He added that with insurance plans, the benefiting children are assured of a sustainable financial protection pipeline that ensures that they complete their education even in the face of unforeseen events such as a breadwinner’s death.

According to the managing director of Old Mutual Nigeria, the company offers an insurance plan known as “Old Mutual Target Savings Plan” that is versatile, and a dependable tool that allows policyholders to save flexibly for their children’s education.

“In case of the unfortunate loss of life of a policyholder, the Old Mutual Target Savings Plan facilitates a premium payout of benefits to the named beneficiary of the savings account, thereby ensuring the continuity of the said beneficiary’s education,” Omesehin explained.