By Yemi Olakitan
THE recently celebrated 50th anniversary of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), which was held amidst pomp and pageantry, also witnessed the crowning of Miss Insurance 2009.
The beauty pageant, which was part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the institute, was a gathering of who is who in the Nigerian insurance sector.
The event, which was held at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, was designed to identify the insurance sector with fashion, beauty and entertainment. Organisers of the event hoped that the pageant would make positive statements and remove much of the mystery behind insurance. It was also a way of celebrating the achievements of the insurance sector in Nigeria.
Contestants who participated in this year’s pageant were from different insurance companies in the country, with Miss Brenda Ihuoma Nwakama of Scib Nigeria Limited emerging the winner.
A native of Abia State, Ihuoma is a graduate of Public Administration from the Enugu State University of Technology. She is an Account Executive with Scib Nigeria Limited in Lagos.
Ihuoma, who joined Scib as a member of the National Youth Service Corps in Abuja, was later posted to Lagos as a staff of the company.
Speaking in an interview, Miss Nwakama said she was elated to have won the competition. She said she had always known that she would become a beauty queen one day, but did not suspect that it would be within the insurance industry. She expressed her deep appreciation to the staff and management of Scib for their moral and financial support, which enabled her win the competition.
Speaking further on her celebrated victory, Ihuoma said she will use her tenure as the new Miss Insurance for the year 2009 to pursue her pet projects, which include; creating awareness concerning the numerous insurance policies within the Nigerian insurance sector by partnering with members of the print and electronic media. She also wished to use her reign to promote corporate governance, also known as due process within the insurance sector.
She said she would endeavour to sensitise the insurance community on their social responsibility to the less privileged, the motherless and the poor in the society. Ihuoma plans to work together with all stakeholders within the sector. She hoped to work with the Insurers Association of Nigeria, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria with support from her company Scib Nigeria & Company.
This queen is not new to the beauty pageant sector, having participated in various competitions in the past. She participated in the Prettiest Girl in Nigeria pageant organised by Phemy Concepts, an entertainment company in Lagos. She was also the winner of Miss Rotaract Nigeria 2005/2006, organised by the Rotary Club of Nigeria. Ihuoma was also Miss Rotaract, Enugu State University of Technology. She was also the district winner of the pageant before she went ahead to win it at the national level. Ihuoma was also, Miss Scib; a competition she won at her company’s new year party held in Lagos last December.
Ihuoma went home with the grand prize of a Kia Picanto car as the winner of the Miss Insurance beauty pageant. The car was donated by Goldlink Insurance Plc.
Speaking on the relevance of the pageant to the insurance sector and Scib Nigeria & Company Limited, Head, Human Resources Department, Miss Adeyemi Aderemi, said the pageant is a vehicle for youth development, growth and opportunity. She said it was important for the insurance sector to identify with other areas of human endeavour such as fashion, beauty, and entertainment because insurance is related to all aspects of human life.
She said Scib was proud to be the winner of this year’s competition, having emerged second runner up in last year’s competition.
Scib Nigeria & Company is an insurance broking and risk management firm based in Lagos. The company, which has been operating in the insurance sector for about 30 years, is a partner of Willis, an insurance firm based in the United Kingdom.
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