Dike Onwuamaeze
Conscious of the negative consequences of the acute shortage of certified actuarial scientists in Nigeria, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has taken the campaign for young Nigerians to embrace the study of Actuarial Science to the secondary schools.
In furtherance of this campaign, the Assistant Director/Head, Directorate of Actuarial Standards, FRC, Mr. Harris Oshojah, visited Babs Fafunwa Millennium Secondary School, Ojudu, Lagos State, to enjoin the students to chose the study of Actuarial Science in their university education.
The visit was part of the Nigerian Actuarial Development Programme (NADP) Advocacy Outreach.
Oshojah said, “We are here this afternoon because certified actuaries are lacking in Nigeria.
“Presently, we have less than 30 actuaries in Nigeria and we are here to sensitise students on the importance of studying Actuarial Science and the opportunities embedded in the profession.”
He said that one of the major hindrances in the advancement of the study of Actuarial Science in Nigeria is that many students in the secondary schools are not aware of the course and the potentials it has.
“So, the FRC is carrying out sensitisation campaigns to advise students to go into that area.
“Not just that alone. We also have an agreement with the Nigeria Actuarial Society that we will reimburse every student that passed any level of the professional examinations. Just to ensure that we contribute our own quota to the development of actuaries in Nigeria.
“That is why we are here this afternoon, to let you know that there is a course called Actuarial Science in Nigeria,” he said, adding that “for you to be actuaries you must be very, very good in mathematics.
“Please try as much as possible to take your Mathematics very, very seriously. Do not run away from Mathematics.”
Speaking during the advocacy outreach, the Head, Department of Actuarial Science and Insurance, University of Lagos, Professor Ismaila Adeleke, said that it was a privilege to be speaking with future leaders of Nigeria.
Adeleke said that the students would be making key decisions towards the end of their secondary school that would include the choice of studies in the university.
He said, “Many of you are aware of medicine. Many of you are aware of law, engineering courses, nursing and others. But very few students are aware of Actuarial Science.
“So I am here to preach to you and find a way of convincing you to consider Actuarial Science as one of the options for your future studies.”
Adeleke said that Actuarial Science simply means bookkeeping though different from bookkeeping in accounting.
“It is a Latin word that means bookkeeping that involves the use of mathematical skills, economic skills and financial skills to address risks. That means taking decisions as to how risks are managed,” he said.
Adeleke described actuaries as the backbone of the economy by helping to protect the funds, the economy and designing means of avoiding risk.
He assured the students that becoming certified actuaries would automatically earn them global recognition.
He said that Actuarial Science is one of the courses that he would advise them to take.
“Actuaries help to cost health care. So government can plan with the advice of the actuaries. Actuaries are also useful in the pension industry. They help design different pension schemes.
“Actuaries are also important in business decision making because they are very good with forecasts.
“Actuaries are highly skilled individuals. As secondary school students the requirements that you need to study Actuarial Science are Mathematics, English, Economics and two other subjects.”
Adeleke said that Nigeria needed actuaries but there are very few of them as we speak.
According to the Principal of Babs Fafunwa Millennium Secondary School, Mr. Olutoto Olufemi Alani, only the best and serious Mathematics students in the Senior Secondary 1 and 2 were selected to be addressed during the advocacy visit.
Alani said, “We would have called the whole school but because it is a serious issue, we chose the serious-minded and children that have visions and dreams who are ready to strive toward excellence.”
He, therefore, urged the students to listen with rapt attention and act on what they have been told.
Three Ministers, Key Projects Show Tinubu’s Love for Ondo, Says Youth Minister
Fidelis David in Akure
The Minister of Youth Affairs, Ayo Olawande, has said the appointment of three ministers from Ondo State and the execution of key federal projects across the state are clear indications of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment and love for the people of the state, urging members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to remain united ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Olawande, who spoke during an interaction with journalists, said he was committed to working with party leaders and stakeholders across the state to ensure the re-election of President Tinubu, citing what he described as the administration’s visible developmental strides and growing federal presence in Ondo State.
According to the minister, several ongoing federal projects in the state demonstrate the President’s commitment to infrastructure renewal and improved healthcare delivery.
“The achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu speak for themselves, and Ondo State has been a direct beneficiary of his commitment to national development,” he said.
He listed some of the projects to include the dualisation of the Akure–Ore Road, the Akure–Ado Road project, the establishment of a teaching hospital institution in Akure, and federal support for the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) Teaching Hospital, among other interventions.
Olawande also described the current level of federal appointments allocated to Ondo State as unprecedented, noting that the state presently has three serving ministers in the Federal Executive Council, alongside ambassadorial appointments for some indigenes.
“For the first time in our history, Ondo State has three members in the Federal Executive Council. This is unprecedented. It shows the President’s belief in our capacity and our role in building the Nigeria of our dreams,” he stated.
The minister said the appointments reflected the confidence the Tinubu administration has in Ondo State’s political leadership and contributions to national governance.
He, however, urged APC members across the state to turn out in large numbers for the forthcoming direct primary election, describing the exercise as crucial to consolidating the gains recorded by the current administration.
“We are ready. Ondo State is ready. We will stand united to ensure that the President returns to office to continue the good work he has started,” Olawande affirmed.
