Business Report | December 2025
In a detailed LinkedIn commentary that has since gained attention across Nigeria’s business community, brand strategist and Businessfront Inc. CEO, View Múyìwá Mátùlúkò, recounted the little-known events behind one of Africa’s most remarkable corporate recoveries: that of AIICO Insurance Plc.
According to Mátùlúkò, the crisis that almost ended AIICO began in 2007, when the firm awaited a promised $15 million capital injection from its founding parent, American International Group (AIG).
“$15 million was supposed to save AIICO Insurance Plc in 2007,” Mátùlúkò wrote. “Instead, they got ghosted.”
He explained that AIG, which birthed AIICO in 1963, had verbally committed to reinvesting in the Nigerian company to prevent collapse.
“It was meant to be a financial lifeline from the parent company,” he noted. “Then AIG walked away. No explanation. No alternative. Just a verdict: ‘Too risky.’”
But the failure of the parent company to step in did not mark the end of AIICO. According to Mátùlúkò, that moment forced a fundamental shift in the company’s destiny.
“For most companies, that’s where the story ends. For AIICO, that’s where the real story began. Instead of chasing another foreign saviour, Nigerian investors stepped in,” he wrote.
“Nigerian ownership. Nigerian leadership. Nigerian solutions.”
However, he warned that indigenous ownership alone does not automatically translate to recovery.
“Ownership change doesn’t guarantee transformation,” Mátùlúkò stressed. “What happened next did.”
He revealed that rather than pursue publicity or cosmetic reforms, AIICO’s leadership focused on building internal strength.
“The new leadership didn’t chase headlines. They instead built architecture,” he said. “They stopped reacting to crises and started building for decades, not quarters.”
This strategy, he observed, reached full acceleration when Babatunde Fajemirokun became Chief Executive Officer in 2019 after six years as Chief Operating Officer.
“When Babatunde Fajemirokun took the helm, the transformation philosophy became non-negotiable,” Mátùlúkò explained.
“He deepened a culture that prioritised structure over spectacle and resilience over noise.”
Mátùlúkò also highlighted how the company was able to attract long-term global capital under local leadership.
“He even helped secure ₦5.38 billion in capital from LeapFrog Investments,” he wrote. “That funding didn’t just stabilise the business, it repositioned it for growth.”
Today, AIICO is a different organisation from the one that nearly collapsed in 2007 — both financially and structurally.
Mátùlúkò itemised the results:
“From near-collapse to ₦2.3 billion in annual profits.
Early IFRS 17 adoption revealing ₦19.8 billion in already-earned future profits.
Over ₦200 billion in claims and benefits paid between 2020 and 2024.
A balance sheet four times stronger than regulation requires.”
He concluded that AIICO is no longer what it once was.
“AIICO is no longer a foreign franchise,” he declared.
“It’s a Nigerian-built fortress that absorbs shocks, works in decades rather than quarters, and makes decisions with the quiet confidence of an institution that has outlived its origins.”
For Mátùlúkò, the lesson goes beyond one company.
He explained why his firm, Businessfront Inc., was created.
“We spotlight businesses that have survived over 50 years because they hold the blueprint Africa actually needs,” he wrote.
“Not loud risers who fall quickly, but quiet builders who compound strength over time.”
He also issued a note of caution to Africa’s startup and tech culture.
“The boardrooms already know that staying power beats disruption in markets like ours,” he stated.
“It’s time everyone else did too.”
As the Nigerian insurance company quietly consolidates its position among Africa’s longest-surviving brands, Mátùlúkò’s remarks have reframed AIICO’s history—not as an accident of survival, but as a deliberate triumph of local leadership and long-term strategy.
