The need for professionals across different spheres of career calling to become competent in the subject of risk management was the thrust of discourse when the leadership of the Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP) paid a courtesy visit to the management of Covenant University.
The Director General of AERMP, Mr. Olayinka Odutola, said all sectors of society are prone to risks, and there was an urgent need to train the requisite manpower to serve as risk managers that will function in diverse professional fields of endeavours.
Mr. Odutola said Covenant University, having pioneered a lot of novel programmes in the nation’s tertiary education landscape, can become the first to have a risk management laboratory that can become the hub and rally point for those interested in coming around to experiment on issues of risk as they pertain to their subject areas of interest.
He said the body is ready to partner with Covenant towards ensuring that the cost implications for staff and students at the University are affordable. According to him, "When this partnership gets underway, there will be certain levels of certification exam exemptions granted to those seeking full membership status with the body."
Mr. Odutola appreciated the management of Covenant for their readiness to evolve a relationship with the body. He said the professional body has been part of the University’s events in time past, and recognises the institution's pivotal role in raising the academic bar of the nation by staying true to her founding vision of raising new generation leaders.
"Many of the valuable programmes and ideas running in Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape are traceable to the visionary platform of Covenant University. Programmes like the entrepreneurial development studies, town and gowns seminars, and innovation hubs are springing up across universities and polytechnics in Nigeria because you championed those ideas," he added.
In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abiodun H. Adebayo, said the University management will review the partnership proposal when one is submitted and see the possibility of kick-starting the relationship.
Professor Adebayo said injecting risk management into her programmes is not an issue for the university management but will still be subject to the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The Vice-Chancellor said when a memorandum of understanding is initiated between both parties, the university’s Centre for Lifelong Learning will be in a good position to host the processes of getting certification in the field of risk management.
The meeting had in attendance the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olujide Adekeye; Acting Registrar, Mrs. Regina Tobi-David; Dean, College of Management and Social Sciences, Professor Abiola Babajide; Director, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Professor Omotayo Osibanjo; and the Financial Controller of the University, Mr. Olumuyiwa Omisakin.