The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso1, Managing Director of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr Armstrong Ume Takang, chief executives and other business leaders will converge on Lagos next week for the 25th Annual International Conference and Silver Jubilee Celebration of the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI).

The two-day conference, scheduled for October 14 and 15 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, will bring together policymakers, regulators, chief risk officers, academics, development partners and other stakeholders to examine how organisations can transform risk management into a competitive advantage.

The event is being held to commemorate CRMI’s 25 years of advancing professional risk management practice in Nigeria.

Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of CRMI, Victor Olannye, in a statement, said the conference would focus on building what it described as a “resilience edge” for organisations operating in an increasingly uncertain environment.

Cardoso is expected to attend as Special Guest of Honour, while Takang will deliver the keynote address.

President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CRMI, Kevin Ugwuoke, said the role of risk management had changed significantly over the past 25 years, moving from a largely administrative function to a critical boardroom responsibility.

“Twenty-five years ago, risk management in Nigeria was a back-office function that few boards discussed,” Ugwuoke said.

“Today it sits in the boardroom. The question is no longer whether an organisation manages risk, but whether it can turn that capability into an advantage. That is what we mean by the resilience edge.”

The institute said the conference was coming at a time when Nigerian businesses were facing multiple pressures, including economic reforms, technological disruption, changing regulatory requirements, climate-related risks and growing cyber threats.

According to CRMI, plenary sessions, panel discussions and technical workshops during the conference will examine how boards and management can anticipate disruptions, adapt their strategies and recover from shocks while maintaining competitive advantage.

A major feature of the conference will be the maiden University Risk Management Challenge, designed to expose students to practical risk-management problems and encourage the development of the next generation of professionals in the field.

Under the challenge, teams from Nigerian universities will analyse a real-world risk scenario and present their proposed solutions before a panel of senior practitioners.

The participating students will compete for financial grants, academic recognition and professional development opportunities.

Ugwuoke said the initiative was part of the institute’s effort to identify and nurture emerging talent early.

“The profession’s next twenty-five years will be built by people who are undergraduates today,” he said, adding that CRMI wanted to engage emerging talent “before the job market does.”

The conference will culminate in a 25th Anniversary Award and Dinner Night on October 15, where individuals and organisations considered to have contributed significantly to the development of risk management practice in Nigeria will be recognised.

Award categories include Institutional Leadership in Risk Advocacy, Human Capacity Development in Risk Management, Risk Regulation Excellence, Chief Risk Officer of the Year, Digital and Cyber Risk Management Excellence, Young Risk Professional of the Year, and Excellence in Security Risk Management and National Security.

CRMI said the awards were intended to promote best practices while setting benchmarks for corporate resilience, regulatory compliance and national security preparedness.

The institute said representatives of risk management bodies across Africa, alongside international development partners, are expected to attend the event.