The Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) is an indigenous Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) focused on driving behaviour change by leveraging evidence and research to develop campaigns and programmes geared towards contributing to development in Nigeria. The Centre’s work, according to its pioneer Executive Director, Babafunke Fagbemi, focuses on the role of strategic communication in impacting behaviours change, brands building and enhancement of technical leadership. The pharmacist-turned social impact communication specialist shares her 30 years’experience working in social and behaviour change with DANIEL ESSIET.
Her ambition is to become the centre of excellence in strategic communication in Africa, particularly in the area of driving social and behaviour change. But for the remarkable drive, interest and passion of its pioneer Executive Director, Babafunke Fagbemi, in supporting change and driving improvement, the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), an indigenous Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) focused on driving behaviour change, would probably not have inched closer to achieving that ambition.
Babafunke, a 1989 Pharmacy graduate, from University of Ibadan (UI), has brought her nearly 30 years’wealth of experience working in the space of social and behaviour change to bear in positioning CCSI, which started as the Centre for Communication Programs Nigeria (CCPN), as a reference point in strategic communication in Africa.
Already, CCSI, under her charge, has become the biggest contributor to the body of research and programming that helps to develop and define communication strategies to implement and monitor health and social development programmes that improve the quality of life of Nigerians.
The Centre, The Nation learnt, was birthed by the John Hopkins Centre for Communication Programmes in Baltimore in 2001. It has, however, been operating and working in the space of social and behaviour change in Nigeria for over 15 years. But before Babafunke, who worked for a few years as a pharmacist before and diversified into public health through the channel of communication, was inspired to assume the role of steering the ship at CCSI, the organisation, according to her, “only existed on paper.” But her passion and drive has since given the Centre more mileage and visibility.
Evidences of CCSI’s footprints in its space are quite glaring. Babafunke, who went back to the university to study Communication Art at the postgraduate level, and a couple of years after, earned a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool in London, said, for instance, that under her watch, the Centre has intervened in health programmes like malaria, family planning, nutrition, water and sanitation, agriculture, violence against children, women and girls, tuberculosis, and neglected Tropical diseases to name a few.
“In addition, we have extended the principles of Social and Behavior Change (SBC) for thematic areas outside health in the social development space such as anti-corruption, good governance and peace and conflict resolution and also contributed to the body of work in anti-trafficking. CCSI has a strong media and research arm that lead and lay a solid foundation in media, design and evidence generation for all we do,” Babafunke stated, adding that CCSI’s work is centered around the role of strategic communication to impact behaviours, build brands and provide technical leadership in its field.
The social impact communication specialist also leads the Centre in the provision of oversight and technical direction and guidance for the work it does. She also manages CCSI’s portfolios, securing the business and working with the people. “I was inspired to come into this role because of my drive, interest and passion in supporting change, driving improvement and contributing to making sure that we make our environment and community a better place,” Babafunke, who is a mother of three young adults, said.
Giving more insight into what inspired her to veer into this space, she said: “I also wanted to serve the underprivileged, and I have a passion and interest in supporting the elimination all forms of injustice and unfairness and just creating a level playing ground for all citizens that belong to this country that we all love and we call Nigeria, whether you are Christian or Muslim, young or old, boy or girl, man or woman and educated or not, just contributing my quota to making sure we make Nigeria a better place. I also want to leave a legacy in developing the capacity of the next generation.”
A social entrepreneur, Babafunke has always been motivated by the idea of running a sustainable business. She also believes that women particularly those in top management positions are positive role models who can help other women become better leaders and business managers. For her, the participation and advancement of women is not just an aspiration, but an imperative for the betterment of business and society.
Babafunke sees social entrepreneurship as a millennial business model approach that business entrepreneurs and social enterprises should deploy to solve environmental, cultural, and social problems in their communities. She also believes that there is a strong relationship between social entrepreneurship, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing.
Accordingly, she has been encouraging companies to contribute to building economies by creating jobs and allocating funds to increase community’s economic growth. “Its a cause very close to my heart,” she said.
Encouraged by what she has achieved so far, Babafunke is already gearing up for more exploits “A few years down the line, I see our organisation consolidated. Our reputation is really spreading even beyond the shores of Nigeria as a social and behavior change organisation of choice and as a premium partner to consider.
“I see the influence of the work we do touching thousands of people who benefit from our regular leadership workshops. I see CCSI mentoring the next generation of young leaders who are interested in honing their skills in the space of communication,” she told The Nation.
The social impact communication specialist also said she sees the Centre’s research base expanding, with CCSI contributing so much in terms of evidence and body of knowledge in research. As she stated: “We have a couple of publications to our name. So just as an organisation in line with our vision to become a centre of excellence for social and behavior change, not only in Nigeria but in the African continent and beyond.
“Our strategic plan will explore venturing into additional thematic areas such as climate action and food security with a focus on the priorities of behavioral science, diversity, equity and inclusion, digital communication, media partnerships and social protection.”
However, Babafunke’s successes did not come without initial challenges. “It really was a bit challenging at the beginning. It was interesting and a bit frustrating too,” she admitted. But the challenges were nothing she could not handle or surmount. Her words: “Honestly, I actually did have all the support I needed from our colleagues from the Centre for Communication Programs based in Baltimore.
“They provided as much technical assistance as was possible. They also supported with the development of some of our tools, provided hands-on support. And, in fact, the first activity we had in Nigeria as an indigenous local organisation, which was the leadership training in strategic communication that we conduct for professionals in the health communications space, was done in conjunction with the faculty from Baltimore.”
Babafunke said although, there were so many uncertainties as a start up, she had to navigate the landscape when the funding was not there. “We navigated the landscape when there seemed to be so much competition and it was difficult to stay afloat. Trying to build a reputation just to have some record of accomplishment that can serve as a negotiating tool and evidence of our capability while exploring other opportunities for partnership was not easy, but God really helped us,” she said.
She also attributed her success to divine intervention. “God has been super faithful. I doubt if I will even have the opportunity to grant this interview if God had not really helped me. So, I owe a lot to God’s mercy,” she said, pointing out that “in addition to all that, I had a lot of support from my family. I wasn’t held back from exploring all the opportunities, exploring my potential, doing my best.”
She stated that she had enough help with her children because at a point in time, all her three children were all under the age of five and that was when she was budding in her career as a young woman. “I had a lot of support from my family. I had a lot of support from the networks that I was just privileged to belong to. I had a lot of mentors who were willing to hold my hand, direct me on the way to go, who were willing to listen without judgment,” Babafunke added.
Driven by her passion to contribute to development in Nigeria, doing her bit either at individual level, at institutional level, organisational level, and in different spheres where she is privileged to find herself, Babafunke gave thumbs up for her highly dedicated and motivated staff and other team members. Her words: “I really want to thank the team I have been working with from inception and up until now. Honestly, the team I have, they are just the most important asset. And they are a very huge contributing factor in the success that we can claim today.
“So, I have been blessed to have people who joined my team, became committed, loyal and passionate. They bought into the vision and together we are creating a dynasty, an empire that we know will last. It will even outlive and outlast us together. We make mistakes together, we learn together. We rejoice when we are successful. So, I really want to give a lot of credit to the staff, the stakeholders that we have worked with closely on this journey.”
Noting that at the apex of every organisation, good governance plays a critical role, she also said she has been blessed with a supportive and responsive Board of Trustees. “These highly experienced individuals are from a diverse background with relevant expertise. They provide leadership and strategic direction. Indeed, they have and continue to play a key role in CCSI’s stability, they are just the angels that calm the storm and make sure that there is actually no storm,” Babafunke said.
Does the expert sometimes feel intimidated in her chosen field because of her gender? Her response: “I really cannot say that I have faced a lot of barriers just because I am a female. Rather, I will say by occupying this position as a female, I have other colleagues in the same industry that we see eye to eye, and we encourage ourselves. So, in terms of gender-related roadblocks, it probably could be things like stereotypes for example when you’re relating within a group and the perception that people have about your capability or your ability to do something simply because you’re a woman or just by basically sizing you up.”
Continuing, perhaps on a lighter note, she said: “Because my name is Babafunke, it seems a bit confusing for people because the first impression when they hear that name is, oh, it is a man. So, usually, the bias in that mind is, oh, we are going to meet a man. And another thing on the light side is sometimes when I speak on the phone and when people meet me, they keep asking, are you the same person I spoke with on the phone? And the reason is because they said no, the voice sounds like, you know, they expect someone who is large, who is big and tall well, sorry to disappoint you, this is the package and this is who I am.”
She recalled an experience when she was left at the airport in Uganda for longer than was necessary because the driver that had her name on the placard dropped it because he did not see a man. “I arrived for a programme in Malawi and the receiving officer asked straight up, “Please, who are you? We are expecting Babafunke…” I am not sure I can say that I have been stopped in my tracks because of gender-related roadblocks,” stated.
