We here serve you the concluding part of the interview with ken Egbas, CEO of Trucontact,organisers of the Seraawards,the13theditionof which is scheduled to hold in lagos on the 9th of November,2019. Enjoy the read.
Nigeria met only one of the nine Millennium Development Goals (MGD’S). Are we currently on track to meet the SDGS by 2030?
Honestly, it was sad to see that Nigeria, with all her resources and human capacity, could only meet one of the nine goals. I believe there were a lot of factors that contributed to this. However, the onus for the actualization of these goals falls squarely under the ambit of the federal government of each member nation of the UN. With regards to the millennium goals, political will and ethical leadership were absent. When such is the case, galvanizing the private and public sectors to act in ways and manners that would drive the objectives becomes impossible.
The other sore point for the MDGS was the paucity of documentation and a concise method through which measurement could be effected. Anything you do not document cannot be measured, and if you cannot measure it, you definitely cannot improve upon it.
However, in the case of the SGDS, there has been an improvement. Today, we have a special assistant to President Buhari on the SDGS in the person of Princess Adejoke Adefulire, who was former deputy governor of Lagos state. You find her everywhere there is an SDG related activity. She has done excellently in trying to energize the private and public sector partnership that forms the bedrock of the ability to achieve the set target. This for me is a step in the right direction.
But again, the chances of success would only heighten when the political leadership owns the goals and objectives, and shows the sincerity and political will to make things happen. We have seen President Paul Kagame do such for Rwanda. President Muhammadu Buhari would find himself in good company if he follows suit.
What does your listing in 2018 amongst The Global 100 influential Leaders in the world – one of only two Africans that made the list – connote for the industry in Nigeria?
To be honest, I never saw that coming. I recall my team wanting to put together a small event to celebrate it, but I had to make them understand that in as much as it was a noteworthy achievement, I did not see a reason to be outlandish about it as there was still so much to be done, and on a personal note, I was of the view that strategically, we had only reached the 30 percent milestone of what we set out to achieve.
Having said that, being listed alongside the likes of Laura Chapman Rubbo of Walt Disney, Lisa Jackson – vice president at Apple, Kate Brandt of Google, Tim Mohin – CEO of Global Reporting Initiative, and Rose Stuckey Kirk of Verizon and all the others does count for a career high for me. As such, I am grateful to Assent Global for the honor.
But most importantly, even though it’s my name on the list, I represent all the irrepressible, supremely talented, and dedicated team of people I am blessed to work with on a daily basis. This honour belongs to them all.
On what it connotes for the industry, permit me to say it in pidgin language as our brothers and sisters from Warri would say, “Naija no dey carry last” (laughs). For me, it’s also an acknowledgement of the industry advancement going on in Nigeria. If you look around, there is a rich ecosystem in place. Recently, a colleague in the industry also got listed on the board of a global reporting body. Another colleague who works in one of Nigeria’s top banks has become so active that through her, her bank is leading the conversations around sustainable banking principles on the floor of the UN and getting banking institutions around the world to toe their path. A lot has happened in the Nigerian sustainability industry that is positive. I am happiest about these developments because at the start, I was like a lone voice crying in the wilderness, but now we are a chorale of voices singing sweet tunes. I have enjoyed the privilege of being invited to several international fora to share the best practices from Nigeria and Africa, and our colleagues are always pleasantly surprised by the progress we are making in Africa.
What is the future of CSR and Sustainability in Nigeria and Africa?
The future is indeed very bright. We are playing the catch-up game quite well. The growing knowledgeable manpower is also helping the industry a great deal. Conversations are moving up from lower and middle level management staff right into the C-suites. So, everything is going according to plan thus far irrespective of the occasional bumps. However, organizations must note the new trends that are currently shaping the conversations globally and would be indicators of future success in CSR and sustainability for organizations. I am talking about issues such as social inclusion, expansion of the diversity conversation, focused and forward-thinking brand activism, shift from disaster recovery to climate resilience, more CSR in the Csuites, higher standards for suppliers, prioritizing privacy and data protection, and gender equality. These issues will determine and enhance market positioning in the now and future.
Having successfully positioned The SERAS CSR Awards Africa as glamorous business awards on the continent, what do you see it growing into in the future?
Again, I will be entirely honest with you; I was as surprised as all those who attended last year’s awards when I walked into the venue and beheld the stage and all the other razzmatazz that went with it (laughs). I happen to be blessed with a wonderful and gifted team. I was out of the country and only arrived a day to the awards ceremony. It went to prove to me that as an organization, we had come of age and I do not necessarily need to be around for the right things to happen. The 2018 edition was the most glamorous yet. So, it makes me wonder what could happen the day we find a sponsor to bankroll the event.
It was the same thing that happened when the awards statuettes were redesigned by R.S. Owens, the same company that makes the OSCARS and Golden Globe statuettes. My team felt it was time to upgrade on what we had at the time. I did not object to their suggestion until I was presented with the cost of each unit of the present statuette, I recall walking out of the meeting, I couldn’t understand how they expected us to be able to purchase a single unit at nearly two thousand dollars apiece, when you multiply the figure by 25, it give you an ideas of the cost of the trophies alone, which by the way makes it the costliest we have seen around. Eventually, we were able to pull it off. These days, I am happy when I visit some of these organizations and see the statuettes perched on the mantelpiece of the CEO’S office.
Today, The SERAS CSR Awards is not only Africa’s biggest and most credible of its kind, it is actually the premier CSR and sustainability awards on the continent. It began in Nigeria. In the future, we intend to push the boundaries a little more. Possibly from the next few editions we have plans to host it at other African cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo, and Kigali before possibly returning to Lagos. It would help the rest of Africa feel our vibes and catch the CSR and sustainability fever. On our plans for the 2019 awards which hold on November 9th, I would say to you, attend the awards. Each preceding year has always been an upgrade of the previous. Our goal is to position The SERAS for CSR and Sustainability the same way that The OSCARS is positioned in the movie industry, as the top most rated honour in the industry.
How do organizations enter or participate in The SERAS?
It is by logging onto the project website www.theseras.com and all the registration details would be found therein. Entries are currently open and will close shortly. After which we embark on the field and verification visits to locations indicated in entries
