By Tola Ogunnubi
Today, with a heart full of gratitude, I join the entire insurance community, colleagues, friends, and the beautiful family of Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, our distinguished Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), in celebrating the gift of his life.
Allow me to take you back to a rainy September evening in 2004. I was standing in the car park under the Apongbon Bridge on Lagos Island, an insurance agent living solely on commission, when I spotted a sharply dressed man. With the boldness that only hunger and hope can give, I approached him, hoping to underwrite a policy. He listened with quiet amusement, smiled, and then asked a question that would change the course of my life: “Would you like to work in an insurance company where you earn a steady monthly salary instead of living on commission alone, as a graduate of Actuarial Science from the University of Lagos?”
I seized the offer without hesitation. He gave me an address in Ikoyi. Two days later, on a wet Thursday morning, I arrived before 7:30 a.m. The office was not yet open, so I waited outside and watched the staff arrive, all well dressed, purposeful, and professionally looking. In that moment I silently prayed that I would one day belong to that fold. When the doors finally opened, I met Mr. Moruf Apampa, then Assistant General Manager (and today the MD/CEO of one of our leading insurers). He welcomed me with warmth, praised my boldness, and later took me upstairs to meet the Managing Director.
There, seated with quiet authority, was Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, MD/CEO of Admiral Insurance Company Limited. He looked at me briefly, as if assessing both the risk and the potential in equal measure, and asked just one question: “Are you ready to work?” I answered “Yes.” He simply said he liked my person. No further formal interview. No lengthy assessment. Just a handshake and a start date of 4th October 2004. In the language of our industry, that was pure strategic underwriting of talent (smiles), a decision taken on character and promise rather than on paperwork alone. That day, my path crossed with a man who would become far more than an employer.
Originally inclined toward the foreign service, he chose instead the path of insurance in June 1993 at Crusader Insurance Plc. Hailing from Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, he was educated at United Anglican Primary School, Abe-alala, and C&S Academy, Ugbo-nla, before earning a Second Class Upper degree in Political Science from the then Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University) in 1990. After National Youth Service in Ikot-Ekpene, he obtained a Master of International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos in 1992 and later an M.Sc. in Economics from the same institution. His professional armory was further strengthened at Lagos Business School and the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He became an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria in 1996 and is today a Fellow (FIIN), as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and the Nigerian Institute of Management.
At Custodian and Allied Insurance, he rose to Divisional Head of Operations. In 2003 he took the helm at Admiral Insurance, a long-standing loss-making company, and restored it to profitability within his first year, proving once again that disciplined underwriting and sound risk selection can rewrite even the most difficult accounts. After the 2007 industry consolidation he led AIICO General Insurance through a comprehensive transformation. In 2010 he assumed leadership of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, repositioning it especially in the oil and gas segment over a decade of steady growth. In 2020 he became Managing Director of Old Mutual Nigeria Life Assurance Company Limited, continuing his pattern of strengthening balance sheets and institutional culture.
As the 25th Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, he championed market discipline, self-regulation, insurance awareness, human capital development, and the faithful enforcement of compulsory insurances, always with the quiet conviction that a credible industry is the best protection for both policyholders and practitioners.
In April 2024, President Bola Tinubu appointed him the seventh Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM. Since assuming office, he has steered the Commission with a clear five-point agenda: protecting policyholders and restoring public confidence through a better claims-settlement culture; strengthening NAICOM’s own regulatory capacity; safeguarding the solvency and financial soundness of operators; fostering innovation; and expanding accessibility and penetration across the nation. Under his watch the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 has been advanced, a major recapitalization exercise successfully concluded, and the Insurance Policyholders’ Protection Fund established which are all steps toward a more resilient, trustworthy, and inclusive market.
The successful completion of the insurance sector recapitalization exercise is a strong indication heralding a new era of insurance in Nigeria. Driven by the NIIRA 2025, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on 31 July 2025, this reform forms part of broader financial-sector initiatives aimed at supporting a US$1 trillion economy by 2030. These reforms have seen insurance stocks lead market gains (contributing, for instance, to a ₦481 billion rise in market capitalization in a single session), with several names posting strong double-digit percentage gains as confidence in the sector grew and its contribution to the nation’s GDP strengthened.
Beyond the titles and the turnarounds, he remains a pioneer of many firsts, a devoted husband, a wonderful father, a reliable and responsible boss, supportive to a fault, and a defender to the end. His frequent reference is admirable; he would often say, “Oga Tola, look I started early and I am grateful to God for His grace. I have been lucky by working hard.” His corrective glance still speaks a million words of guidance and care.
In the vast ledger of life, where destinies are underwritten by the invisible hand of Providence, he appears, from time to time, as a rare soul whose presence becomes both premium and protection to all who walk under his shadow. He is a man whose life is itself a master policy of excellence, written in the indelible ink of integrity, wisdom, and quiet strength.
He is not merely a boss; he is a sanctuary. He is not merely a mentor; he is a living lighthouse, standing firm on the rocky shores of ambition, casting a steady beam that guides young sailors safely through the fog of uncertainty into the harbour of purpose. Over two decades later, Mr. Omosehin remains my coach, mentor, preceptor, torchbearer, and living exemplar.
He is an insurance industry enigma, a man whose career has been one long masterclass in risk management, institutional turnaround, and the patient building of trust.
On this special day, as you mark your 59th birthday, I thank God for the gift of your life and for the privilege of walking part of this journey under your mentorship.
May the years ahead bring you continued success, long life, sound health, peace of mind, a bountiful harvest from every seed you have sown in career and family, and the joyful fulfilment of every good dream still held in your heart.
To all admirers, friends and family, please join me in wishing my boss, mentor, and role model a truly happy birthday.
Thank you, and may Heaven continue to underwrite every good intention of your life.
