It’s 37 Days to Christmas!
A six-year old tradition of lighting up the public space by one of Nigeria’s leading banks, Zenith Bank, was relived last Friday at the Eko Hotel Roundabout, Victoria Island, Lagos. The official commissioning was witnessed by top management staff of the bank, media as well as passersby, grinding the city to a halt, as the grandiose view naturally commanded.
Streamed live on Youtube, the light-up ceremony signals the march towards the yuletide period which makes the city buzz with festivities. The sight of the lighting may be familiar to workers, residents and other Lagosians who frequently plied this axis but the magnetic impact of gigantic creative displays of Christmas decoration this year is very unique.
In a few weeks, the bank will host its annual Youth Parade, which brings together school children from different parts of Lagos for a day out with the management of the bank.
Meanwhile, the Zenith Christmas decorations have been consistent in providing visual feast over the years and this year records the biggest, covering the entire stretch of Ajose Adeogun – from Eko Hotel to Ligali Ayorinde and the Lay-by around the Eko Hotel Roundabout.
Eko Hotel Roundabout was a sight to behold the moment the brilliant lights shone. The stunning view propelled passers by to capture the moment on mobile devices while some staff of Zenith Bank could not resist the temptation of riding on the electronically powered horses on the rail tracks, taking selfies and sharing short videos on social media.
The brain behind the decorations, Adesh Patil from Quantum Limited, revealed that the project had commenced since January but the on-site installation took about four weeks. Having being at the helm of the project for six years, Patil remarked that this year’s is the biggest that the company has executed.
Asides setting the mood for the season, the annual Christmas decorations are a source of illumination. Although the brilliant lights are better appreciated at night, a day time passersby cannot miss the elegant LED cherry blossom trees, the beautifully lit whipping willow trees, over one hundred thousand bulb lights of Christmas tree, a forest of yellow and white LED Christmas tree glowing against the beautiful skyline of Victoria Island and other awesome decorations covering the entire stretch of Ajose Adeogun as well as the Bank’s headquarters building.
The Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr Peter Amangbo, in his brief speech as the light-up ceremony, thanked all customers for their unwavering patronage and staff of Zenith Bank for their hard work and commitment over the years.
Right now, the Zenith cube roundabout decoration is a bigger and better glowing cube of sugar in the massive expanse of Victoria Island.
This beautification project is a corporate social responsibility initiative of the bank embedded in the culture of giving. For them, giving away part of their profits to good causes may not make sense on the face of it but the returns on such social investments can hardly be underestimated.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has increasingly gained currency in management circles as a key and strategic management principle and a strong business investment that ultimately contributes to the bottom line.