The multinational corporation is a large firm that has operations in more than one country. MNCs have been the main source of a debate which has been waged since the early 1960s. The argument is based around the idea of whether or not multinational corporations, such as Dangote Group have a non-profit role in society. Specifically, this is referring to the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
There are two clear sides to the debate. The first suggests that the only social responsibility of business is to increase profits. The second point of view sees businesses as an instrument to create social value. Regardless of the debate multinational corporations are finding themselves been placed under pressure from both internal and external groups to participate in non-profit roles in order to benefit society.
The most avid supporter of the argument against businesses and multinational corporations having non-profit roles in society is Milton Friedman, who claims that the only social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits.
Examples of MNCs which appear to have adopted the view of Friedman include Dangote Cement, which appears unwilling to carry out any major CSR initiative in Obajana, Kogi State, where it has its largest cement factory. For many Nigerians, Alhaji Aliko Dangote symbolises the promise of Nigeria.
He has built a conglomerate which is today standing on the world stage. No matter how one tries, it is difficult not to use a Dangote product directly or indirectly. Whether it is noodles, salt, industrial sugar, rice or the biggest of them all, Cement, the Dangote imprint is every where. It is not possible for anyone who has done this not to be the richest man in Africa. And going by the speed with which he opens cement factories across Africa – the latest being in Ethiopia – Dangote may soon become the world’s largest individual producer of cement if he has not achieved that yet.
Dangote’s Obajana Cement factory is the largest cement factory in sub-Saharan Africa. Though it was incorporated in 1992, it was in 2012 that it was commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Obajana has 13.25mt of capacity across four lines, the newest of which was commissioned in late 2014. Obajana uses gas for its kilns and power plants and until late 2014, relied on low-pour fuel oil as a back-up fuel for its kilns. In November 2014 the company commissioned a coal mill to serve Line 3 and it is currently installing coal mills to serve Lines 1, 2 and 4.
To ensure that power does not hinder the company’s operations, Dangote Cement generates 1,000mw of electricity. This is well in excess of what the company requires to run operations.
From the foregoing, Obajana should be the envy of all other communities. The people should count themselves lucky that they have limestone in abundance, their own solid gold. But it doesn’t appear that the people be willing to relive the experience if given a choice. It is an experience that has left a sour taste in their mouths.
The people of Obajana have been quiet hoping that the various meetings they have held with management of the company would yield fruit. But it appears their patience is running out. As far back as April 1, 2012, indigenes of Obajana resident in Abuja held a meeting and urged the government and the management of Obajana Cement Factory to provide basic amenities for inhabitants of the community.
The convener of the meeting, Alhaji Tajudeen Bisimilahi, was reported to have said the meeting was convened to address challenges being faced by the people of Obajana. A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting read: “Dangote Cement Company should respect the term of agreement signed with the state government, which entails the dualisation of the Lokoja—Obajana and Kabba Road.
The company should make provision for houses, electricity, water, roads, health facilities for the people of Obajana and also pay adequate compensation and relocate those living close to the production site, to avoid undue health hazards posed by chemical emission and pollution during cement production.
“The people of Kogi State are faced with same scenario that brought about the Niger Delta agitations.
The peaceful nature of Kogi people should not be taken for granted. If the situation persists, the youths of Kogi State may resort to violence which may pose another security challenge in addition to the existing Boko Haram crisis. We ask that meaningful measure be urgently implored to avert an uproar of youth restiveness in the area.”
It is important to quote a report by Business World newspaper of June 15, 2015: “A visit to the community revealed that contrary to what most people outside the community have been made to believe, the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative has failed to address the basic needs and key demands of the people of Obajana.
“According to the youth leader of Obajana community, Comrade Bamidele Adeyanju, it is painful that after about nine years of operation, the community is still languishing in poverty. “He said in an interview with our correspondent, ‘Regrettably we donated our land free of charge to set up the cement factory with the hope that we would benefit immensely from the project but our hope has been dashed as the company failed to meet our expectations.
‘As far as I know, if any company is investing in any community, it is duty bound to at least provide the basic social amenities that are lacking in such a community. These amenities include good roads, portable water, electricity, hospitals, schools, youth and women empowerment etc. The non-provision of these basic amenities has caused as so much pain and distress to us.
‘We have suffered so much deprivation and environmental degradation since this factory was established in our community. We are extremely sad with the turnout of events in Obajana, our community especially the way the management of the Cement Factory is treating our case.’”
It is important for the Dangote Group to realise that CSR is not just the business of the future but the business of today. A socially irresponsible company will soon find out that when the bubble bursts, it will begin to spend huge sums of money trying to buy or achieve peace and tranquillity necessary for it to be in business. That may be costlier than the token required to give a host community electricity, education for their children, water, jobs, etc.
Whether the aim is to improve the standards of living, fight hunger, cure diseases or even just to increase long-run profits through company image, the benefits of corporate social responsibility vastly outweigh the negative impacts of being exposed as socially irresponsible like oil producing companies that are routinely at loggerheads with their host communities in the Niger Delta.
Whenever the company becomes socially responsible, Objana, where it makes the most money is where to begin.
the government should please not make their possitive responds to this calamicious strike action on an Adagio but rather Allegreto, so that schools can now resume with immidiate alacrity.