The administration in Delta State has consolidated its leadership position in micro-credit financing with the launch of a micro-insurance policy to protect small businesses supported by the government.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Whoever asked the question of an insurance policy against hunger may have pulled it as a joke at the gathering of budding entrepreneurs from across Delta State in the Government House last Wednesday.
However, given the kind of distrust many people look at insurance policy marketers, it was not surprising that a top player in the sector, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi rose up to clear the air.

“The bible says that a man that does not work must not eat, so even before you do hunger insurance you still must get some money,” Mr. Ogunbiyi, managing director of Mutual Benefit Assurance told the hundreds of people gathered in the Unity Hall of the Government House for the launch of the Delta State Micro-Insurance Scheme.

“So, there is nothing like hunger insurance. Work is the basic insurance against hunger,” he added for emphasis.
The launch of the DMIS follows the state’s leading position in the area of micro-credit financing which has seen the state cart home the top prize in competitions organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN for the states.

In venturing into the area of micro-credit insurance, the state administration claimed it was motivated by the desire of keeping the gains thus far acheived through the micro-credit financing scheme that has seen the state facilitate several business start-ups through the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who flagged off the scheme was understandably so enthused about the successes so far acheived by the micro-credit scheme that on the launch day he dragged some international guests presently in the state to assess the state’s readiness to attain the Millenium Development Goals, MDGs to join him in witnessing the event.

The Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Antonia Ashiedu in welcoming both local and international guests to the programme had recounted the challenges posed to the sustenance of the micro-credit finance programme through natural disasters and other forms of force majeure.

“The greatest challenge for rural and urban poor entrepreneurs has been how to continue their business in the event of an act of force majeure such as crop failure, permanent disability, natural disasters, accidents, death etc.”

She particularly cited the flood episodes of 2011 and 2012 as incidents that ravaged several businesses facilitated by the state’s Micro-Credit Programme.
The flood episodes, she said, led to the introduction of a pilot insurance scheme for some businesses supported by the DMCP before the final decision to open up the insurance programme to all clients and businesses supported by the state administration.

However, for Gov Uduaghan, the sight of many of the young men gathered in the hall with the desire to promote their businesses pointed to the fact that government and society can reduce tension in the land by empowering idle hands.

The governor in his remarks at the occasion put a nexus between poverty and terrorism saying:”One of the things that people seem to stress is that over the years, we have ignored poverty, over the years we have not paid attention to people at that lower end and what has happened, is that today, a lot of those youths becasue they are not doing anything, they have become a pool of people who are easily recruited to carry arms and ammunition either as criminals, armed roobbers or terrorists.”

“So, one of the genesis of the terrorism that we are experiencing in Nigeria today is neglect of a lot of people in society.”
“It is not a problem we can solve in one day, it will take us some time to solve it but we must start somewhere and for us one of the routes we are using is this micro-credit scheme which we are using to reach a lot of lives.”

Asserting that some of the beneficiaries of the scheme could have otherwise turned to violence, he said”there are a lot of them who instead of coming here today could have been standing on the road with AK 47 after taking hard drugs waiting for you and I.”

The governor was to tease the audience when he noted that many Nigerians expend huge sums of money on socialising and other indulgences that would ordinarily have helped push some out of poverty.
“Some of us here drink beer and in a month some may spend N10,000 or N20,000 on drinking beer alone. Even for smoking, there are chain smokers who can finish a pack of cigaratte a day and I dont want to say other things,” he said to a burst of laughter from the audience.

“We spend money on those things because we have access to money. I can tell you that just N10,000, that you can dash out and give out can change the business of an akara seller,” he said as he commended Dr. Ashiedu on her devotion to the success of the scheme.

He subsequently announced the payment of N6.5 million as premium to MBA to cover the beneficiaries of the DMCP involved in the programme.
The governor was quite delighted announcing some landmark achievements of beneficiaries of the scheme. He was particularly excited by the feat of one of the beneficiaries, whose spices are found in many foreign countries and is marketed at Shoprite stores in Nigeira and abroad.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel in lauding the scheme urged insurance companies to give good account of the industry through prompt payment of claims.
He expressed delight that MBA had resolved to make payments within three days.
Many of the beneficiaries who flooded the event.