The immediate past chief executive officer (CEO) and group managing director of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Ganiyu Musa has advocated for a comprehensive review of insurance legislations in the country.
He made this remark during his send-forth dinner party, organised by Cornerstone Insurance Plc in Lagos recently.
When asked what else is to be done to put the industry in the right place, Musa stated that the industry is still scratching the surface of its potentials, saying, though, operators have improved in the area of service delivery in recent times , but that there is still a large room for improvement.
“The truth is that we have not started, despite the little successes we have recorded. It is almost like an aircraft that is just taking off, and that is where we are. We are just still preparing, and the real job of the heavy lifting lies ahead of us which is what we are trying to do at the National Assembly (NASS),” he stressed.
To keep up with the changing times and ensure that insurance laws are relevant and effective, he said: “We need to modernise our insurance laws , which is what we are trying to do at the national assembly. Our current legal framework has been in place for over 20 years, having been established in 2003. However, given how much society has evolved since then, it is high time that we update this legislation. We are undertaking a thorough review of the law in question, to make it more reflective of our current needs and values.”
Musa also used the opportunity to task professionals on personal development, saying, “Our greatest asset in Cornerstone is the people, so the greatest drag to the insurance industry is also the people. There are no two ways about it, and I am happy that the people who have taken over have recognised that issue and are trying to tackle it in collaboration with amending the laws and the rest.”
Cornerstone Insurance in 2023 alone, through Musa’s leadership, made almost N14 billion in profit, the highest profit ever made in the history of Cornerstone, from a mere N4 billion in shareholders’ funds when he took over in 2012, to N30 billion shareholders funds the company closed last year with.
Speaking on the successes recorded during his time as the GMD of Cornerstone, Musa said: “It feels so good to wear the Cornerstone badge. It is a very good time to be a Cornerstone staff member and ambassador. Everything we achieved at Cornerstone is through God and the people. That is what I will say. I cannot lay claim to that because I am just the instrument, just the leader of the team.”
Emphasising on the need for teamwork to succeed, he said: “As the MD, there is only so much one can do. If you don’t have the troops behind you, you are isolated; you can’t lead. So the real work, the real heavy lifting, is done by the people.
“Our business is a people business. We do not have a plant or machinery. We do not have Coca-Cola that you can open and drink and feel satisfied immediately. It’s a service, and service is about people. So it’s all down to the Cornerstone people. And we have been great; we have been fortunate to have the quality of people that we have in Cornerstone,” he pointed out.
The current managing director/CEO, Stephen Alangbo applauded Musa for the way he led the company to become a household name in the industry, saying, his legacies were what he built on to further grow the bottomline of Cornerstone Insurance Plc.
He retired from the board last year and handed over to Stephen Alangbo who now manages Cornerstone Insurance Plc.
Ganiyu Musa is a highly experienced management professional with over 35 years of diversified experience in insurance, reinsurance, audit, consulting, business advisory and financial management. His professional experience started with Pannell Kerr Forster and later Arthur Andersen & Co where he trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant and gained top quality experience in audit and financial consulting.
He subsequently worked at African Reinsurance Corporation for 19 years, holding key positions, including director of Finance & Accounts/chief financial officer and deputy managing director. He played a lead role in the creation and initial supervision of the risk management function at African Reinsurance Corporation and supervised the design of the Corporation’s investment guidelines and asset allocation.
He left Africa Re in 2011 to join African Capital Alliance (ACA), a leading Pan-African private equity firm as Insurance Sector Specialist and a Director on the Board of Cornerstone Insurance Plc.
He then joined Cornerstone Insurance Plc in 2012 as the group managing director/CEO and retired last year. He was also the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA) having also served as Deputy Chairman and Treasurer.
