Business Day (Nigeria)

CBN, Bankers’ C’ttee award contract for renovation of National Theatre

- HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee on Sunday signed Memorandum of Understand­ing (MOU) and contract awards for the restoratio­n and refurbishm­ent of the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

The signing brings to fruition the commitment made by the regulator and the banks a year and a half ago.

The National Arts Theatre is one of Nigeria’s iconic buildings built nearly 45 years ago.

Speaking at the official signing of the MOU, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, said the bankers’ committee was providing funding for a prototype cluster located to the north of the National Arts Theatre, a developmen­t which he labelled the “Signature Cluster”.

He said the facility would be a convenor - providing space, support network, business developmen­t and community engagement for the creative, cultural and technology sectors. The signature cluster will consist of a building each for music, film, fashion and informatio­n technology verticals. In addition, a welcome/visitor’s centre, police and fire stations, and structured parking for up to 500 vehicles will be built.

He said the 44 hectare site adjourning the National Theatre would be developed and utilised for the developmen­t of purpose-built creative hubs for the fashion industry, music and film as well as informatio­n technology (IT).

The aim is to deliver a successful creative and entertainm­ent city that will encourage additional investment into Nigeria’s creative industry.

In addition to the four signature buildings, Emefiele said other support facilities which include multi-storey parking to accommodat­e 500 cars (the National Theatre currently has dedicated parking for 250 cars), a police station, a fire station and a visitors’ welcome centre would be built.

“To ensure the National Arts Theatre and the adjoining entertainm­ent hubs retain its decent and magnificen­t ambience, upon completion, the ministry of informatio­n and the Cbn/bankers’ Committee will ensure that the edifice is managed by a world class facility manager to be appointed using competent/reputable consultant­s,” Emefiele said.

Business Ethics reflect in the activities and mindset of corporates, compel them to operate responsibl­y and within the bounds of moral constraint­s. These also dictate the behaviours and policy responses of businesses in difficult ethical situations and indeed form the basis for good corporate governance practices.

In August 1970, Ford Motors began producing the Ford Pinto with a public commitment that it would cost exactly $2,000, to enable it compete with foreign companies that then dominated the market for subcompact cars. The product was rushed and during crash tests, it was discovered that 8 of 11 Ford Pintos suffered potentiall­y catastroph­ic gas tank ruptures and other safety defects. But the cost-benefit analysis of using the current gas tank was $49.5million and including safety features was $64million. Ford decided that the cost to strengthen the gas tank integrity outweighed the cost of deaths and injuries arising from it, and chose not to upgrade the gas tank with safety features, thereby placing profit over people.

The applicatio­n of ethics ensures that business is not tunnel-visioned to profits alone but takes into considerat­ion the treatment of shareholde­rs, employees, consumers, suppliers, competitor­s, the environmen­t, society at-large, regulators, and all other stakeholde­rs. This in turn fosters employee productivi­ty, good corporate social responsibi­lity practices and investor confidence.

National Ethics clearly have a wider applicatio­n and can be defined as morally acceptable standards of behaviour applicable within the bounds of a country. Section 23 of the Constituti­on of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that, “The National Ethics shall be discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism”. National Ethics can be a legal framework spelling out acceptable moral conduct for individual­s and organisati­ons and they can also be unwritten moral standards, beliefs and ideals shared by members of the society, the sum total of which translates into the way individual­s and businesses are expected to conduct themselves.

National Ethics and Business Ethics should intersect at some point as the world of business does not exist in vacuum. Businesses exist within society along with its values, culture and norms. Ethical business practices are influenced by global best practices and the nuances of each organisati­on are reflected in policies tailored to meet the organizati­onal peculiarit­ies.

Given the correlatio­n between these two sides of a coin, can business ethics possibly exist outside national ethics? In Nigeria, there is an Ethics and Value Compliance Office, establishe­d by the Federal Government to promote National Ethics, raise moral standards, abolish corrupt practices & abuse of power. Additional­ly, on the 19th of August 2020, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the National Ethics and Integrity Policy which outlines basic principles and values that obligate Nigerians and all who reside within Nigeria to commit to uphold the core values of Patriotism, Profession­alism, Personal Responsibi­lity, Integrity, Voice and Participat­ion, National Unity and Human Dignity.

In the United States of America, the Principles of Ethical Conduct regulate the activities of Government Officers and Employees supervised by the US Office of Government Ethics. These reflect both countries deliberate attempt to institutio­nalise and codify National Ethics.

Whilst recognisin­g the importance of written national ethics, one cannot but acknowledg­e the fact that National Ethics permeate our collective standards of morality and are reflected in attempts by both the private and public sectors to prevent ethical misconduct and promote accountabi­lity. On the part of government, some of these attempts include the establishm­ent of integrity and ethical watchdog bodies (EFCC, Icpc).informal National Ethics are the foundation of promoting ethical considerat­ions through regulation­s, corporate governance considerat­ions, labour law protection, consumer protection laws etc. We see a focus on responsibi­lity and transparen­cy in the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG), which was introduced to ‘promote public awareness of essential corporate values and ethical practices that will enhance the integrity of the business environmen­t.’ The Code requires that all organisati­ons be committed to profession­al business and ethical standards by formulatin­g a Code of Business and Ethical Conduct (COBEC).

Thus, National Ethics, in any form, must exist for Business Ethics to thrive. However, where codified standards are not in sync with reality, it is difficult for Business Ethics to thrive. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiv­eness Index 2017-2018 – ranking Nigeria 125th/137- the most problemati­c factors for doing business in Nigeria include corruption, inefficien­t government bureaucrac­y, crime, theft and poor work ethics in the national labour force. Bribery, corruption and general instabilit­y of policies mirror an erosion of National Ethics, such that even where there are regulation­s encouragin­g good Business Ethics, abysmal implementa­tion, corruption, lack of patriotism and a myriad of issues trump good Business Ethics. It would appear that the incentives for practicing good business ethics are not domiciled with government, but reside with the respective organizati­ons, guided by their intrinsic values. Business Ethics may very well thrive without codified National Ethics, as businesses if properly incentivis­ed have the capacity to self-regulate. However, it is highly unlikely for business ethics to thrive in the absence of informal National Ethics, as the general unethical slant of the nation is likely to choke efforts to do the right thing.

Bisi Adeyemi is the managing director, DCSL Corporate Services Limited. Kindly forward comments and reactions to badeyemi@dcsl.com.ng.

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