PR TIMES AFRICA PR TIMES AFRICA Magazine june 2015 | Page 11

CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
IN NIGERIA
T
he term Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) has
received increased
attention in recent years. Though
the act of Corporations giving
back to the society and acting in
ethical manners dates as far back
as the 1800s, the term CSR itself
is a relatively new phrase. Some
organizations adopt other phrases
such as Social Performance,
Social responsibility, Business's
Responsibility etc but they all
refer to CSR. The increased
attention to CSR emerged as a
realisation on the part of
organizational leaders of the
potential strategic value in
pursuing CSR policies. However,
such realization has been limited
to international organizations in
Nigeria and very few financial
institutions. Even when CSR is
being practiced, it can easily be
mistaken for “corporate
philanthropy” than Corporate
Social Responsibility, as the long
term effect of such cannot be
established or felt.
One major reason for the growth
of CSR is globalization. Because
the world is now “united”, there
is the need to encourage good
practices among organizations,
particularly when they are
operating in regions or cultures in
which they are not familiar with.
For instance, in European
PR TIMES AFRICA
BY MILITA A. ADEYEMO
nations, citizens depend only on
the government for the provision
of basic amenities; while in
African nations, a weak state has
meant that citizens expect basic
amenities from corporations. This
will not only improve the
livelihood of these communities,
but it will also improve the
company's reputation. While
there has been a big CSR debate,
where some authors argue that
the sole aim of any corporation is
to make profit and anything other
than that is anti business, one
cannot say that corporations
should make profit at the expense
of human lives. Besides, every
corporation is either a person or a
VOL 1. JULY 2015
1ST EDITION
country and the moral of good
neighbourliness is to help your
neighbour. This will not only
guarantee friendliness, it also
guarantees peace in the
neighbourhood. Notwithstanding
the critics, corporations have
continued to engage in CSR
because they consider that CSR
gives them a competitive
advantage. Most corporations
engage in CSR activities because
of the benefits that accrue to its
practice. Some corporations have
used CSR as a means of good
Public Relations, while others use
CSR as a means of dispute or
conflict resolution. Particularly
where such corporation's
activities negatively impact on
the communities in which they
operate. It is however rather
unfortunate that CSR has not
taken a firm root in Africa,
specifically in Nigeria. Nigeria;
nicknamed the giant of Africa due
to its large population size has
been able to attract investors both
at the local and international
levels.
Unfortunately, it is right to say
that all that these corporations do
is to siphon Nigeria of its
resources an