Daily Trust - the online edition

Individuals and corporate bodies should not leave the various aspects of human and societal development to the government alone. They should consider social responsibility as part of their traditional economic function to their host community. Unless social responsibility is given equal importance to the profit maximisation function of the organisation, the society will decay.

C. C. Nwachukwu defines corporate social responsibility as "the intelligent and objective concern for the welfare of society which restrains individual and corporate behaviour from ultimate destructive activities, no matter how immediately profitable and which leads in the direction of positive contributions to human betterment".

W. O. Uzoaga has pointed out that "The needs of society, if unattended, turn into social diseases; and no institution, whether business or university or government agency is likely to thrive in a diseased society. Business executives can no longer ignore with impunity the sufferings of human society with the slogan that the business of business is profit and nothing else."

Ever before the attainment of the nation’s independence, what is now present Zamfara State witnessed the presence of various multinational corporations like UTC, GBO, PZ, SCOA, JOHN HOLT and many others. These could be seen in towns like Gusau, Kaura-Namoda and Anka to mention only a few. Where the structures built by these corporations for the purpose of their activities are still apparent presently, individuals have decided to establish several cotton ginneries, the foremost Zamfara Textiles Industry, many water-packaging businesses, hotels and serious influx of banks in the state, but unfortunately, the host communities are yet to taste the relevance of the presence of these organisations in their midst, especially in areas like environmental sanitation and improvement, youth empowerment, provision of pipe-borne water or even scholarship award to the indigenes of the state.

While corporate bodies in some states like Kano are involved in activities that are tailored toward societal development, the situation is entirely different in Zamfara. In places like Kano, Ashaka in Gombe State and Kalambaina and Wamakko in Sokoto State where cement factories are located, these corporate bodies go beyond total profit maximisation to commit a portion of their earnings to the development of their host communities. They go ahead to assist in infrastructural development by way of building schools, roads and clinics.

In other places, corporate bodies especially banks contribute immensely in funding tertiary institutions located within the environment of their activities. Millions of naira are being given to those institutions. They also supply ICT equipment and systems and provide sporting facilities in schools. Corporate bodies located in Zamfara State do not appear to see and emulate these noble gestures shown by companies located in other places in Nigeria.

I strongly challenge these bodies particularly banks located in Zamfara to openly tell us how many scholarship they have given to our teeming youth studying even within the state; how many schools they have built for the benefit of their host communities or even how many drainages in the state are being cleared by these bodies to avoid heavy flooding now that the rainy season is here with us. What a serious neglect!

It is a known fact that Zamfara is an agrarian state with 98% of its population fully engaged in farming. The corporate organisations in Zamfara have never at one time decided to assist our farmers in easing the difficulties they face. The Zamfara Textiles which is the principal buyer of the cotton produced by farmers in the state for many years is yet to create its impact in the host community.

The neglect of social responsibility by corporate bodies in the state may be attributed to the fact that Zamfara is a relatively small state compared to other states where social responsibility is given the serious concern it deserves because of the level of education and sophistication of the host community. In places like the Niger Delta, Ibadan, Lagos, Onitsha, Kano and Kaduna, corporate social responsibility is taken seriously by companies which operate in those places.

Another factor is that a large number of small businesses in the state are wholly owned by individuals who apart from putting the profit they make into their pockets are not aware of the need for some form of social responsibility to the community. In the light of this, I will like to call on the Zamfara State Ministry of Commerce and that of Social Welfare to embark on aggressive enlightenment campaign to urge companies operating in the state to become more socially responsible for the growth and development of their host community.

Banks are the major operators in Zamfara State economy. The government of Zamfara State should as a matter of deliberate policy patronise only banks that contribute to the development of the community where they operate. If this is done, the pace of development in the state will be greatly accelerated.

Anka is a Senior Accountant with the Zamfara State Ministry of Finance and can be reached on 08062214431; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it