By Princewill Ekwujuru It is no longer enough for multinational corporations to be profitable. They are also expected to be good corporate citizens, engage in ethical business, demonstrate sound corporate governance practices and care for the environment. Profitability combined with adherence to the codes of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and care for the environment are becoming important yardsticks for measuring business success around the globe. These codes, most especially sound corporate governance and ethical business practices are becoming imperative for multinational corporations doing business in Nigeria, a challenging environment with tainted public sector institutions that wield enormous powers and resources. In the last decade since the bankruptcy of Enron in 2001, and the more recent United States of America subprime mortgage crisis which wrecked many businesses, leaders of thought and regulatory bodies in Nigeria have been strident in their calls for ethical business practices and adherence to good corporate governance principles. This led to the establishment of the business integrity movement and the subsequent birthing of the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi) with the support of leaders of thought like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole, Mr. Akintola Williams, and Prof. Pat Utomi, among others. CBi was established to promote ethical business practices, transparency and fair competition in the private and public sectors. Living up to its billing, the business integrity movement has since won converts among illustrious Nigerians and institutions. Guinness Nigeria Plc., Access Bank, GTBank, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, BusinessDay Media Limited, and SAP Nigeria, among others are signatories to its Code of Business Integrity which aims to move the Nigerian business community towards a state of visible zero tolerance for corruption. To further engage business leaders in Nigeria on the need to imbibe sound corporate governance principles and ethical business practices, CBi instituted the Christopher Kolade Annual Lecture on Business Integrity in honour of its chairman, Dr. Christoper Kolade, who celebrated his eightieth birthday earlier in the year. Apart from serving as a strong platform for discourse and celebrating Dr. Kolade’s exemplary life of integrity in private and public office, the maiden lecture in the series also celebrated past and present display of exemplary leadership in business and public life. Lead sponsor of the inaugural lecture was Guinness Nigeria Plc, a Diageo company, with reputation for commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical business practice. Guinness Nigeria was awarded the Great Place to Work in Nigeria in 2012, while its parent company, Diageo Plc was also the most admired company in the United Kingdom during the same period, affirming the corporation’s reputation for doing good business in markets in which it operates. Reiterating this at the 1st Christopher Kolade Lecture on Business Integrity, Mr. Seni Adetu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria said “At the core of our business and our values is the commitment to be one of the world’s most respected companies with a reputation of integrity, fairness and trustworthiness. At Guinness Nigeria, we have a vision to be the most iconic company in Nigeria, and we recognise that we would not achieve that by just delivering strong financials or by engaging our people for optimum performance, but also by our reputation in shaping the ethical destiny of Nigeria.” Irrespective of size and operations, Adetu advised entrepreneurs and business leaders in the country to emulate the Guinness Nigeria model by embedding codes, processes and structures that promote ethical practice and good corporate governance in their operating models. According to Mr. Adetu, there are internal codes, processes and structures embedded in every Diageo business which ensures ethical business practice and sound corporate governance by employees, management and board of directors. For instance, he disclosed that employees of Guinness Nigeria are guided by the Diageo Code of Business Conduct which is adhered to by all Diageo employees in about 180 countries. This ensures that Guinness Nigeria employees always act lawfully and with integrity at all times. Highlighting the benefits of ethical business practice and sound corporate governance principles, Mr. Adetu said it is the reason first generation Nigerian CEOs like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Michael Omolayole and Akintola Williams are celebrated as role models and mentors by the present generation of business leaders in Nigeria. “The exemplary life of integrity led by Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole and Mr. Akintola Williams, during their careers in private and public service is the reason they are admired, loved, respected and often cited as role models and mentors by the present generation of business leaders in Nigeria. It is integrity and the ability to uphold sound corporate governance principles that transformed them into national icons, and birthed the Convention on Business Integrity to which multinational corporations and homegrown blue chips doing business in Nigeria are proudly associated,” Adetu said. In his remarks, Dr. Christopher Kolade noted that corruption is more difficult to fight today than when they fought it during the military era. He said: “Today, the struggle is more bitter than it was during the military era. The people you are trying to fight over corruption are the same people that claim to be fighting corruption. But there is no way we can fight it if we do not realise that it is a real fight.” - See more at: vanguardngr/2013/08/pursuing-zero-tolerance-for-corruption-in-corporate-nigeria/#sthash.QUiiHZpG.dpuf
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 21:02:58 +0000
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