The Politics of Corporate Social Responsibility - by Kenneth Amaeshi
THE recent national debate over an alleged “gift” of a church building from an Italian company – Gitto Construzioni Generalli Nigeria Limited (CGC) – to President Jonathan’s hometown (Otuoke, Bayelsa State), together with the Central Bank’s financial donations to some State Governments, raises a fundamental question about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria: Is CSR mainly about corporate philanthropy or could there be more to it? In a study I conducted about 6 years ago with some colleagues (Amaeshi, Adi, Ogbechie and Amao, 2006 - Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Indigenous practices or Western influences?, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 24: 83-99), we found that corporate philanthropy – also known as corporate community investment or corporate giving – was the dominant understanding of CSR in Nigeria. That understanding is still very much the case today. This has included donations to schools, hospitals, local communities, prisons and orphanag...
