Mohammed Kari: The Icon at NICON
Simplicity, discipline and steadfastness, are perhaps some of the adjectives required in describing Mohammed Kari the amiable chief executive officer of NICON Insurance Plc, Kari is a man who has made a name for himself, in the insurance industry. Since 1993, Kari has been chief executive officer of NICON Insurance, the leading insurance company in Nigeria which accounts for more than 48 percent of total premium income of the industry. The firm has a capital base of N1 billion fully paid up and a network of branches located in all states of the federation. With a culture of discipline and open management style, Kari has been able to move NICON to greater heights.
Moreover, NICON has strategic investments in many firms such as the NICON-NOGA Hotels, Daily Times of Nigeria, Niger Insurance and now Nigeria - Arab Bank. This makes the firm one of the best investment outlast for investors to earn good dividends for thus shares. Kari, by virtue of his position in NICON chairs the board of some of the companies in which NICON has investments. Some of then are director of others such as NAL Merchant Bank, Associated Electronics, Globe Re-Insurance and NICON Trustees Limited.
NICON also has investments in the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Company Guarantee Scheme and supports NERFUND. NICON also has endowed professional chairs in insurance and actuarial science at the University of Lagos and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. The company has been fully commercialised, though still wholly owned by government. It has a London office to keep abreast of developments in the international market. The firm also pioneered the introduction of the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme in Nigeria. NICON's responsiveness to modern industry development is manifested in its automation and staff training programmes.
An unwavering supporter of social development, Kari has led NICON to sponsor sport events in the country especially football, table-tennis, swimming and squash. The success story of NICON, Kari says, lies in the dedication and hard-work of its management and staff. Kari , the highly rated president of the West African Insurance Association, WAICA, is unhappy with the low level of creativity and initiatives in products development in the insurance industry. He decries over-dependence on traditional sources of premium but feels industry operators should develop products along social-cultural needs of Nigerians if the Nigeria insurance industry must attain greater heights.
Kari condemns sharp practices such as rate cuttings, indiscipline and mutual suspicion in the industry and believes they must give to healthy competition. Also he identifies indiscipline as the bane of corporate Nigeria and calls for an introduction of social re-engineering process to save the country.
Newswatch June 29, 1998
" Newswatch 1998