Talabi Adebayo Braithwaite (2 July 1928 – 2 May 2011) was a Nigerian insurance broker, and one of the leaders of the insurance industry in Nigeria. He was the first President of the Insurance Institute of Nigeria (IIN), now the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN).

Life

Talabi Braithwaite was born on 2 July 1928 in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. He attended the

CMS Grammar School, Lagos The CMS Grammar School in Bariga, a suburb of Lagos in Lagos State, is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, founded on 6 June 1859 by the Church Missionary Society. For decades it was the main source of African clergymen and administrators in ...

and in 1946 obtained a first grade

Senior Cambridge The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

Certificate with exemption from London Matriculation. In 1949 he went to London where he gained experience in general insurance at the

Royal Exchange, London The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham on the suggestion of his factor (agent), factor Richard Clough to act as a centre of commerce for the City of London. The site was provided by the Ci ...

. He was the first African to pass the examination to become an associate of the

Chartered Insurance Institute The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) is a professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and financial planning profession. The CII's purpose, as set out in its 1912 royal charter, is to 'Secure and justify the conf ...

, London in 1951.

Career

Braithwaite returned to Nigeria in October 1952 to start the chief agency of the Law Union & Rock Insurance Company. In the 1950s he shared a flat on Hawley Street with Sonny Odogwu, who would also become a leader in the Nigerian corporate world, and Michael Kubenje. In 1958 he launched T.A. Braithwaite Insurance Brokers & Co. The company specialized in the new fields, for Nigeria, of Marine Insurance and Life Assurance Underwriting. In 1959 Braithwaite presided over the meeting of the Nigerian Insurance Consultative Committee that resolved to form the

Insurance Institute of Nigeria Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

, and was on the steering committee that planned for launch of the Institute. In 1960 Braithwaite and other Nigerian partners founded the Life Underwriting Company of African Alliance Insurance Company in partnership with the Munich Reinsurance Company. Braithwaite advised the government of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1960 as a risk consultant when it formed the Great Nigeria Insurance Company. He assisted with setting up other insurance companies including the West African Provincial Company and the African Insurance Company. Between 1963 and 1966 Braithwaite was the first indigenous president of the Insurance Institute of Nigeria (IIN), the insurance industry's professional association. He was also first president of the Nigerian Corporation of Insurance Brokers for sixteen years starting in 1963. In 1969 he became an underwriting member of

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

, and from 1 January 1970 started underwriting on the Merrett Syndicate. On 16 November 2000 President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

made him a

Commander of the Order of the Niger Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, ...

(CON). Braithwaite's eldest child and daughter, Derin Braithwaite Disu, became chairman of the

Lagos Island Lagos Island () is the principal and central Local government areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian ce ...

Local Government, adviser to Lagos State governor

Babatunde Fashola Babatunde Raji Fashola ( ; born 28 June 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as the federal minister of Works and Housing of Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. He was the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (Nigeria), minister of Pow ...

and a well known socialite. Talabi Braithwaite died on 2 May 2011 in a London hospital, aged 82. He left a large fortune.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braithwaite, Talabi 1928 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople Yoruba businesspeople Nigerian businesspeople in insurance Businesspeople from Lagos CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni Commanders of the Order of the Niger Nigerian brokers