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Tag: Osunkeye

  • Osunkeye calls for effective corporate governance in public sector

    Osunkeye calls for effective corporate governance in public sector

    Board guru and chairman, Omnibus Business Solutions Ltd, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye has called for introduction of effective corporate governance to the Nigerian public sector in order to enhance performance of the sector.

    Osunkeye, former chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc, said effective corporate governance will enhance regulation of the structure , operations, and activities of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS).

    Osunkeye, who was the Chairman of the 18th Investiture of the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria (CIoD) when Alhaji Tijani Borodo was inaugurated as the Institute’s 18th President, explained that both the private and public sector should imbibe the key pillars of corporate governance for accelerated growth and development of the economy.

    “It is my view that the Nigerian Code of Governance in the Public Sector is urgently needed to regulate the structure , operations and activities of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS). This is because both the private and public sectors should incorporate the pillars of governance – transparency, responsibility, accountability, and fairness in all ramifications to have a prosperous country, ” Osunkeye said.

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    He ascribed the failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to refuse to publish its financial statements for seven years between 2016 and 2022 to weak corporate governance structure in the public sector.

    According to him, the apex bank failed to publish its financial statements despite the provision of section 50 of CBN Act 2007 that the audited account shall be transmitted to the National Assembly and the president within two months after each financial year, and be published in the Gazette.

    Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) Plc, Mr Oscar Onyema, who was the keynote speaker at the investiture, noted that the institute which was founded 40 years ago, stood out as the premier corporate governance and leadership development body due to the huge impact it had brought to the leadership of many organizations in Nigeria.

    Onyema who also spoke on the need for organizations to embrace Economic , Social and Governance (ESG) trends said companies need to embrace sustainability in all their operations.

    “As sustainability standards become more prevalent, the CIoD Nigeria can help companies adapt and meet disclosure requirements. With its established reputation, the institute can advocate for policies and practices that foster growth and innovation, aligning with broader national and global governance trends,” Onyema said.

    Borodo pledged to uphold the ideals of the institute’s corporate governance policy and procedures.

  • Build your home with diligence, Osunkeye tells women

    The immediate Past Chairman of Nestle Foods Nigeria Olusegun Osunkeye has charged Christian women to build their homes with care, industry, diligence and prudent management.

    Osunkeye spoke at the 19th annual women’s conference organised by Diocese of Lagos West Anglican Communion.

    Tagged The wise builder, the conference attracted hundreds of Christian women from across the federation.

    He lamented many women have plucked their homes down with negligence, idleness and wastefulness.

    He urged them to emulate Abigail, who through her swift actions and skillful negotiation, saved her husband despite his surly and mean attitude.

    “I urge you to be like Abigail in your homes and businesses, look beyond the present crisis to the big picture. Use your skills to promote peace.

    “Place yourself under God’s control for whatever challenge or responsibility you may be facing today,” he stressed.

    Osunkeye stated it is the responsibility of the wife as a wise builder to make the home environment conducive and welcoming.

    This, he said, will greatly assist the husband in ministry.

    He noted Priscilla and Aquila made the most of their spiritual education from Paul and turned their homes to warm places for training and worship.

    According to him, the Christian home is still one of the best tools for preaching the gospel.

    “Their effectiveness together speaks about relationship with each other. Their hospitality opened the door way of salvation to many. Guests find Christ in their home,” he added.

    Osunkeye added that a wise woman must know how to manage with prudence and take care of the concerns of the family.

    “A wise woman will endeavour to enlighten and improve her conscience. This is the faculty of the soul by which we weigh the morality of an action.

    “To improve the conscience we must give it light and let it guide us. Well enlightened, it guides to happiness and heaven,” Osunkeye said.

    President , Women’s and Girls’ Organisation, Diocese of Lagos  West, Mrs. Lydia Odedeji, challenged Christians women to live by the word of God and exhibit values that make their homes heaven on earth.

    Odedeji said a life, home or nation in which Christ is given priority cannot but overcome hurdles successfully.

    According to her: “We are not protected from all troubles but we are sure of being protected in them.

    “The power to live in victory all the times lies in the practice of the word neither in mere confession of the word nor in mere mental assent to them,” Odedeji said.

     

  • Osunkeye: From Hands-on to visionary

    I recently was a guest of one of the world’s gentlemen, the debonair Chief Emeka Anyaoku, at the Metropolitan Club, and I had a conversation with Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, former managing director of Nestle Foods. He confirmed my primary view of how to lead. He said in the early 1970’s, even before he was head of the company, he observed that the Nigerian staff lacked expertise, and he decided to embark on a ruthless regime of training. Some, he observed, could not write a good sentence. So particular was he that he earned the nickname Black Power.

    By the time he became MD, he found out he no longer needed to do much supervision. “I discovered, they already knew about their assignments than I,” he said. So, he did not stay in their way and he allowed them blossom. He showed that the first job of a leader is to make leaders. Having made them self-sufficient, he now could sit back and concentrate on the big picture as a visionary. That accounts for why he became one of the outstanding leaders of corporate Nigeria.

     

     

     

  • Osunkeye marks 75th birthday Sept 7

    Boardroom guru and Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International Chief Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye will on Monday, September 7, mark his 75th Birthday with a holy communion service at the Archbishop Vinning Memorial Cathedral, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The service, according to a statement by Intermedia Communications Company, would start by 10am.

    The statement said members of the diplomatic corps, traditional rulers, top government functionaries, the academia, the clergy and other well-wishers would attend the event.

    Dignitaries expected include Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, His Grace, Nicholas Okoh; Anglican Archbishop of Lagos Metropolitan Most Rev. (Prof.) Abiodun Akinde; industrialist and co-founder of Egba Science Education Foundation, Chief Olatunde Abudu, among many other captains of industry.

    The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo,  Okukenu IV, will lead royal fathers to the event.

    Osunkeye is former chairman and chief executive officer of Nestlé Nigeria Plc, the International Chamber of Commerce, Pilot Securities, as well as volunteer mentor and consultant to Nigerian youths through FATE Foundation.

    He is also a past-president of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Glaxosmithkline.

    Osunkeye is known to have supervised the establishment of Nestlé’s N12 billion plant at the Sagamu Interchange as well as the N70 billion 2.5 metric tonnes latest production line of Lafarge WAPCO, Ewekoro, among others.

  • How I will spend my retirement, Osunkeye

    How I will spend my retirement, Osunkeye

    After nearly four decades on the board of several companies, what will Nigeria’s boardroom icon, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, be doing as he quits his last major corporate engagement this month? He will open a new chapter in service to humanity and God.

    Osunkeye told The Nation that he will devote his time henceforth to mentoring and helping to discover, nurture and encourage new crop of Nigerian corporate leaders.

    Osunkeye retires as chairman of Lafarge Africa Plc on May 23, 2015. He had earlier in 2014 retired as chairman of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK) Plc, where he held the largest shareholdings among the directors. Osunkeye had kick-started his gradual disengagement from active corporate management with his celebrated retirement as chairman of board of Nestle Nigeria Plc.

    In a chat with The Nation, Osunkeye said he will devote his retirement period to mentoring, social and community work and church activities.

    According to him, he will draw on his experience to help to nurture corporate executives and entrepreneurs and will be available for any activity that will lead to socio-economic development of the communities.

    Osunkeye, who had earlier retired from Nestle Nigeria as he winds down long industrious boardroom career, opted for voluntary retirement from the board of Lafarge Africa after leading the cement group through a complex consolidation of its operations.

    Osunkeye’s retirement takes effect on May 23, 2015, the same day that Mobolaji Balogun, son of the founder of FCMB Group, Chief Subomi Balogun, steps into the board chairmanship. Balogun has been a non-executive director on the board of Lafarge Africa.

    Osunkeye is widely revered by the minority shareholders for his inclusive approach and the sterling performance of the companies he presided over. He received a standing ovation from the minority shareholders at his last annual general meeting at Nestle Nigeria.

    Osunkeye guided Lafarge through a complex consolidation of its businesses in Nigeria and South Africa under a single entity subsequently renamed Lafarge Africa Plc.

    Lafarge had on July 9, 2014 received shareholders’ approval to consolidate its cement businesses in Nigeria and combine these with South African operations to create a leading sub-Saharan building materials giant to be known as Lafarge Africa Plc. The consolidation was done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc.

    Under the transaction, Lafarge Group transferred its direct and indirect shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holding Limited of 72.4 per cent and its equity stakes in three other cement companies in Nigeria-United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) Limited, 35 per cent, Ashaka Cement Plc, 58.61 per cent and Atlas Cement Company Limited, 100 per cent to Lafarge Wapco for a cash consideration of $200 million and the issuance of some 1.4 billion Lafarge Africa shares to the Lafarge Group.

    Nigerian Cement Holdings B.V.(NCH), an affiliate of Large Africa Plc, two weeks ago completed the acquisition of the first 15 per cent tranche equity stake in Unicem  NCH, which is owned 50 per cent by Lafarge Africa, had 70 per cent equity stake in Unicem and with the acquisition, it has now increased its stake to 85 per cent.

    NCH had in November 2014 entered into an agreement with FMN Cement Industries Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc to acquire its 30 per cent investment in Unicem. The completion of the acquisition of the first tranche of 15 per cent paves the way for the acquisition of the second tranche of 15 per cent, which is scheduled for on or before February 2016.

    Lafarge Africa also recently successfully concluded a mandatory tender offer (MTO) for acquisition of minority shares in Ashaka Cement Plc, thus increasing its majority equity stake in Ashaka Cement to 82.46 per cent.

    The MTO was triggered by the transfer of 58.61 per cent majority equity stake in Ashaka Cement previously held by Lafarge Nigeria (UK) Limited. Section 131 of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) and Rule 445 of SEC make it mandatory for any institution or person that acquires at least 30 per cent of a company to make an MTO to other minority shareholders.

    According to the report, 3,641 shareholders of Ashakacem tendered 534.14 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, which represented 23.85 per cent of the total minority stake of 41.39 per cent sought to be acquired by Lafarge Africa.

    The board of Lafarge Africa confirmed that it has allotted about 150.73 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of Lafarge Africa and paid about N1.07 billion as shares and cash considerations to the shareholders of Ashakacem that accepted the MTO.

    With this, Lafarge Africa now has 82.46 per cent majority equity stake in Ashakacem. The completion of the MTO followed receipt of the requisite regulatory approvals by Lafarge Africa.

    Following the consolidation of Lafarge’s businesses in Nigeria and South Africa into Lafarge Africa, Lafarge Africa had acquired 58.61 per cent majority equity stake in Ashaka Cement. The majority equity stake was previously held by Lafarge Nigeria (UK) Limited. The acquisition was done through a block trade at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Lafarge Africa then in late December 2014 launched an MTO to acquire the remaining 41.39 per cent equity stake held by other shareholders in Ashakacem in furtherance of the consolidation of Lafarge’s businesses. The MTO, scheduled to close in January 23, 2015, was extended for another five working days.

    Under the MTO, Lafarge Africa offered 57 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in exchange for 202 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of Ashakacem. In addition, Lafarge Africa offered to pay N2 for every acquired Ashakacem’s share.

    Minority shareholders had held 927.009 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in Ashakacem, representing 41.39 per cent of the cement company’s total outstanding shares. With this, Lafarge was expected to issue 261.58 million ordinary shares and pay additional cash consideration of N1.85 billion as equity and cash consideration for the full take-over of the 41.39 per cent equity stake held by minority shareholders in Ashakacem.

    Osunkeye described the completion of the MTO as a major step in the consolidation of the Lafarge’s businesses.

    “This is a significant step in the conclusion of the consolidation process of Lafarge Africa Plc. I would like to express my appreciation to the AshakaCem shareholders whose participation in the transaction through the tender of their shares has made this a very successful process,’’ Osunkeye said.

     

     

  • Osunkeye seeks review of rule on exclusion of majority shareholders

    Osunkeye seeks review of rule on exclusion of majority shareholders

    Boardroom mogul and Chair-man, Lafarge Africa Plc, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, has called for a review of rules by the capital market authorities, which excludes majority core investor in a company from voting its shares in favour of any major corporate decision, warning that such rule will have serious unintended consequences on the growth and development of the capital market.

    Osunkeye, who has served on the boards of not less than five quoted companies over three and a half decades and recently retired as chairman  of Nestle Nigeria Plc and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK) Plc, spoke at a workshop organised by the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) and PR Plus in Lagos.

    According to him, the rules on exclusion of core investors from voting would be counterproductive to current efforts at wooing foreign and indigenous entrepreneurs to list their companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) while the growth of existing listed companies may be stifled by minority consideration for immediate profit.

    Rules by the NSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) exclude the core investor, all related and interested parties, entities, associates and proxies from exercising their voting rights, even where they hold fully-paid shares.

    The rules by capital market regulators represent major paradigm shift from the previous practice where such excluded persons and entities are allowed to exercise their voting rights and runs contrary to the general principle of one share or unit, one vote.

    “I think this rule could give rise to unintended consequences, because we should bear in mind the level of our socio-economic development as a country, the sophistication of the market structure and the players in that market,” Osunkeye said.

    Citing that the stock market is dominated by foreign portfolio investors whose main investment objective could be short-term gains and the dispersal of minority shareholdings, he noted that foreign minority shareholders with intent on short-term gain could hide under such rules to thwart a long-term corporate development plan with potential for several long-term benefits for the economy but immediate constraint to dividend distribution.

    He said such rule that bars majority shareholder from voting its shares would expose entrepreneurs to undue influences of portfolio speculators and fund managers whose interests may not be in tandem with the long-term growth plan of the company.

    “I do not believe that it is the intention of the rule-makers to emasculate corporate democracy, facilitate a tyranny of the minority against the majority. The rule could deter listing on the Exchange by businesses, particularly Nigerian entrepreneurs, who have concentrated ownership, for fear of losing the right to participate in the decision making process of the business enterprise they have laboured so hard to nurture with respect to such transactions. I am of the opinion that the unintended consequence of the rules would be to discourage listings by private companies who would otherwise thrive as publicly quoted companies,” Osunkeye said.

    According to him, while it is true that the interests of institutional investors may not always coincide, it is also true that the interests of foreign portfolio investors are not often the same as domestic institutional or retail investors.

    He added that the retail domestic minority shareholders are widely dispersed, with some 100,000 shareholders holding as little as 6.5 per cent of a company, to have any meaningful restrain on speculative portfolio managers that are against long-term corporate and national interests.

    He decried the situation where changes are made in legislation and policies without adequate consultation with the stakeholders, especially the operating companies which may be affected by such changes or punitive exercise of power by a regulatory body.

    He urged shareholders’ associations to be advocates against laws and regulations that are inimical to business and investment growth noting that shareholders need to appreciate that operating environment usually affect the performance of the board and management.

    According to him, shareholders through their associations should have the goal of improving their companies. Shareholders activism should be channeled towards ensuring the viability and sustainability of the public companies they own, and in the process, seek to influence board and management through collaboration rather than antagonising board members.

    “The interest of shareholders is also well served when they show consciousness and understanding for social and corporate responsibility towards other stakeholders, and the society at large. I also plead that regulatory bodies should reflect that rules and regulations may sometimes need to be adapted to suit the needs and stage of socio-economic and business development of our country,” Osunkeye concluded.

    With such majority-shareholder barring rule, it means that foreign and Nigerian majority shareholders, such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who owns majority equity stakes in Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar Refinery; and Nestle SA, which owns controlling equity stake in Nestle Nigeria Plc, will not be able to vote on major corporate decisions affecting their companies.

    With the exception of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, which hold less than majority shareholdings, other foreign investors hold more than 50 per cent controlling majority equity stakes. The foreign investors are spread across dominant sectors  with large concentration in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) sector.

    These major multinationals include Unilever Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, United Kingdom (GSK UK) Plc, PZ Cussons, Nestle SA, Lafarge SA, Heineken NV, Mondelçz International, Berger Bilfinger, BOC Holdings, Standard Bank Group, Leventis, Total SA, Mobil Oil Corporation, Siat NV, Affelka SA, Greif International Holdings B.V., United States’ Exxon Mobil Oil Corporation and SAB Miller.

    Other Nigerian individual and institutional investors that may be affected included UAC of Nigeria, Vitafoam Nigeria, Dr. Oba Otudeko and Mr. Femi Otedola.

     

  • Osunkeye: ‘Odds stacked against Nigerian businesses’

    Osunkeye: ‘Odds stacked against Nigerian businesses’

    Chief Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye, a one-time CEO of Nestle Plc is boardroom guru who sits on the board of several blue-chip companies. He  is currently President and Chairman, Board of Society of Corporate Governance Nigeria. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Bola Olajuwon, he speaks on the loss of values and ethics as well as offers solutions to challenges facing businesses and how corporate governance, effectiveness and best practices will promote Nigerian businesses. Excerpts: 

    What do you think is lacking in management of public and private institutions?

    Private institutions are big and small – the big multinational companies, the companies in the list of stock exchange and the small institutions. Those are the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The SMEs should be the bedrock of a nation economically, because we should have thousands and thousands of them, starting with even what I call the corner shop to the artisans and the vocational people. But we don’t have enough of that. We have not enabled and empowered them. For the big institutions, there are hosts of corporate governance in place and they are trying in imbibing that code to put them in good steps. Big companies have facilities and the wherewithal – whether it’s finance or engaging the best hands and best brains. We should think also more of the small private institutions, which we call the SMEs and the one-man businesses that need to be helped. It has been said that we as a country should build institutions and not personalities. By so doing, institutions can then work on themselves irrespective of who happens to be at the head or an officer at that time. We need a lot of work to do there; to build regulatory authorities and other institutions, which regulate our affairs and which should also help and support other private institutions or even public institutions. We need a lot of capacity-building and that can only come from good education.

    We need learning and development capacity for people to continue training themselves to improve themselves. Corporate governance, of course, is omnibus; whether it’s for public sector or private sector. I am happy to add, too, that a new code of corporate governance will come out hopefully before the end of the year. It will be for the private and the public sector, so that both in the economic and the socio-economic field, we will be talking from the same page. Corporate governance involves good corporate behaviour and good corporate behaviour stems from good private behaviour. In other words, the standard of performance of the individual makes up for the corporate governance of an institution or a company. So, that code will be able to help us move forward. For instance, the public sector is there to assist the private institutions and private sectors. If we also share from the same code of performance of behaviour, then it will help the private sector as well as the public sector and the nation at large.

    How do you see corporate governance in public and private institutions?

    Let me go back to education. We have seen deterioration in educational standards over the years; it’s getting worse and therefore you can only think from what you know, if you don’t know, you cannot think too far. Many companies are lamenting that many graduates they engage cannot even write correct English. We also find out that many graduates are even lazy. On ethos of the ethics, they cannot see why they should be punctual; they cannot see why they should work hard; they cannot see why they should take the job as their own and work loyally in a committed way.  So, that is even before corporate governance and before you bring them to the mainstream. Now, let me ask: Who are we bringing to the mainstream? What is their character? What are their characteristics? Are they well-prepared? Have they been to school? Unfortunately, many of the schools have deteriorated.

    Many companies now have to train graduates for about 18 months before they can be useful for their purpose of employment in the organisation, it wasn’t so before; 25 to 30 years ago, companies were going to universities to interview the students and when they take them from the institutions, they can be up and ready to go. Education should be the basis because that is the actual starting point. On artisans, we don’t have them these days – the bricklayers, the welders, the carpenters. The old ones we have are still surviving, but they are dying. Who will replace them? When you request for their service, the ones you see are not that competent; their work ethics is low. Instead of doing eight hours a day, he will end up doing four to five hours because he gets to work at 10am and wants to close at 3pm. So, we can go back to education and do something now for the future. The present generation has been lost virtually. But it can’t be like this forever. We need qualitative schools and qualitative education; all-round education. We should pay attention to vocational schools because it is from vocational schools and vocational trainings that we have self-employed persons that will establish ultimately the SMEs and some will even metamorphosis into very big organisations. But we have to get it right through qualitative education and qualitative training. About 30 to 40 years ago, there were many technical institutions which produced sound technicians. Are they still doing that today? Do they still have the right equipments? Are the teachers conscious? Are they being paid well, so they can be committed? Because teachers are the gateway, if they are competent and committed, the students will be competent for the future.

    What is responsible for the collapse of organisations?

    It is poor manpower. In the sense that there are no good hands to help, no work ethics, no loyalty and no commitment. Any of the workers will rather cheat their employers or engage in shady deals. Poor infrastructure is another cause and it’s not helping at all. The roads are bad and vehicles, which should last five years, probably last one year because of poor road network. On power and energy, virtually every business needs consistent and constant electricity to do their work. Electricity is key, even if it’s the work of the hairdresser, the welder or the vulcaniser. Many companies are battling with lack of electricity. They have to now generate their own power, buy a generating set, buy diesel and run their own electricity. Before they start the production of even the first package, the cost of doing business is very high and many companies cannot just survive. Some government policies are favourable while some are not and that is why we have advocacy groups like the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association to make government aware of their problems with a view to solve them.

    A lot of odds are stacked against businesses and we must try to unravel and help businesses create the enabling environment. Good manpower, good infrastructure, good roads, water and electricity will bring the cost of doing business down. SMEs should be allowed to thrive. They are suffering right now and I hope that the policies that are put in place will be effective to enable them to grow. I have sympathy a lot for SMEs. The difficulties are so much. To surmount this, you need to have stamina and staying power. SMEs find it very difficult to get finance. And fortunately, the government is looking at that through the banks and other institutions. But the cost of accessing finance is also very high. SMEs maybe paying like 20, 22 or 24 per cent and the big companies can pay like 15 per cent. So then, you can see even between the big multinationals that have the class and the financial muscle versus the SMEs, the odds are not the same.

    How do you think the government can diversify the economy from oil?

    I fully subscribe to the notion that we should diversify our economy. At present, we are a mono-culture economy – we depend largely on oil. There are speculations that oil revenue is about 90 per cent. Oil is a wasting asset; it will not last forever. Even if new reserves and the likes are discovered, it is still a wasting asset. Like the Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway, do, we should have an active sovereign fund. I use the word active, where we are disciplined enough not to touch what we put into the sovereign fund for future generations.

    Future generations start from even those who are already born now. They are under the age of 20. At the time that they are 30-45, who will they rely upon? For the past 30 to 40 years, we have been living on this oil; this present generation has been consuming the wasting asset without thinking of the future.

    I think what we are spending now should be spent on income yielding assets and resources. For instance, are we putting enough of this oil money into agriculture? As a nation, we are about 170 million people today and maybe in 20 years time, we will be 200 million people. We must eat and food security will become an issue. If we can use oil money to diversify to ensure that we can feed ourselves now and in the future, it will be well spent. Oil money should give us good roads, good education, good hospitals with the equipments and personnel that are well-trained and competent that will take us farther into the future. So that 25 to 30 years from now, if we don’t have oil, we would have enough resources that are self-sustaining like agriculture as well as sovereign wealth fund, which should continually be replenished or augmented so that the future generations can fall back on that; even when you are spending something now for current living and expenditures. Our economy must be diversified away from oil. The oil money is by providence; we have not worked for it. It just came from the soil and we applied technology. But when it dries up, what do we have? So, it is a must that we diversify economy and we have been saying this for the past 20 years. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to have achieved much and that is lamentable.

    Is that why the code of corporate governance is being extended into the public sector?

    Yes, because corporate governance is at the end of the behaviour. We are talking of behaviour, transparency, honesty, accountability, integrity and if all these are imbibed, you are closer to corporate governance. And if all of us subscribe to that, our nation and companies will be better. If all of us – the private sector and the public sector – have a code of corporate governance, which we all subscribe to, it will be good for us, our economy, social co-existence, efficiency of people, business and investment. Because if I know you imbibe good governance and best practices, where you are coming from, I will trust you more and we can then become partners in business and investment. This is what we are looking at. Therefore, if the public sector has a code of corporate governance, for instance on standard of performance, it will be good for the economy, our cohesion, standards and we will be able to do business together among ourselves as domestic investors and investors abroad would want to come here and put their money. Because they trust that our code of corporate governance, which embodies both the private and public sectors, they can subscribe to it because it’s the same with what they have abroad.

    Can you throw more light on the activities of the Corporate Governance Society of Nigeria?

    The society was formed about nine years ago by a group of public-minded individuals, of which I’m among, and we invited others to share its vision and that is why it is on good standing today. It is a qualitative society and part of our functions is to have conferences, where we talk about good corporate governance, best practices, bring in best speakers and share experiences. Also, we publish qualitative journals on various aspects of corporate governance. The idea, of course, is to move us forward as a nation. Where more persons are sharing their views on good corporate governance and best practices, it is good for themselves, their businesses and the nation. And now that we are extending it to the public sector, I think it will assure foreign investors and private investors as well within the country that we are all talking from the same page and it will help the economy. So, we train, we do board enhancement programmes, if the society is invited by companies to come and demonstrate or make presentations on the practice of corporate governance, effective and best practices. We do that and we are trying to imbibe others, get companies to know why we are doing this and we have succeeded in the places we went, their performances are better and they are going forward.