CHIDO Obidiegwu is a media practitioner with over two decades in electronic journalism. Now he is out with Givingback Consultancy, a concept, he said, is aimed at promoting responsible and responsive governance and corporate institutions. He spoke to BANKOLE SHAKIRUDEEN ADESHINA on why he is debuting the Show next Wednesday at the Lagos MuseumWHAT is the Givingback Television Show all about'IT is a show about to be premiered in Nigeria. We want to provide a platform to showcase what corporate organizations and high-networked individuals do to give back to the society.We are also expanding the concept to incorporate public office holders, affording them a platform to defend and explain to what extent, they have fulfilled the mandate and executed the social contract given them.At the local government level, government has virtually abdicated its responsibilities to the people.At the state level, except for a few of them, they appear to have abandoned their responsibilities to the public. The Federal Government is hardly better. But over the years, governments appeared not to border so much about the interests of the populace.There is also this distrust, which has graduated to disgust from the society that most of the corporate organisations in the country are only interested in over-maximizing their profits, not bothering about the environment and the society.And again, we now see unbridled devastation and despoliation of the environment without giving back to cushion the effects on the people.Are you talking of the Niger Delta 'Yes! But beyond Niger Delta, there are many manufacturing organizations, for instance, in a place like Ikorodu, Lagos that emit a lot of chemicals that adversely affect the environment. And they are not doing anything about it.It is not about a section or a state, the entire country is littered with corporate organizations that are making so much from the system and are refusing to give back to the system.In fairness however, there are also corporate organizations that are doing great in giving back to the society.The benefit is that when the companies that are giving back to the society are well-projected and presented to the public through the show, others would not but emulate the culture. By so doing, we would begin to build a structure of sustainability in the area of giving back to the society.In doing this, we have been having issues, especially with some companies that appear to be religious. Some of them were quoting a section of the Bible which says 'when the right is giving, the left should not know.' But I tell them that this is being rendered out of context, because it was basically talking about Offerings in the church.The same Bible says 'Do not light a candle and put it under a bushel.' We should let it shine so that the glory of God would manifest. That is the section of the Bible we are holding unto because we believe that when any organizations does a good thing, it is imperative to celebrate such organizations so that others would learn and perhaps, embrace the culture.So basically, we want to applaud those who are giving and inspire those who are not giving to begin to give.Are you saying these organizations don't have effective CSR Units'Yes, there are quite a good number of them that have developed a good structure for CSR. But there is a dearth of information on CSR in Nigeria. Look round, you can not find up to five books on CSR in Nigeria.So, we need to have a platform, to inform people about what is being done in the area of giving back to the society. Because there is a tendency for other people to tell our story for us, if we refuse to do what is needed to be done.And if an external body is coming to tell your story, you should know that he or she is certainly coming with some bias.For instance, a reporter coming from the Cable Network News (CNN) to write about what is happening in Nigeria will not be able to give the job a good treatment like somebody on the ground who understands the peculiarity and nature of the environment.So, we want to be the one. We want to provide the platform that showcases what the high-network individuals and multinationals are doing to keep up with the society.How do you want to make public office holders accountable when you don't have the constitutional authority to do so'There is what we call moral persuasion.You have asked the people to give you their mandate. You are therefore expected to be accountable to them.When we invite you, for instance, as a governor, member, House of Representatives or local government chairman, we would advertise it and create enough publicity so that the public would be aware of your coming.We want to afford people the opportunity to ask fundamental questions and expect you to explain why you think you have performed well.This culture, we believe would build a strong bond between the electorate and their representatives in government, and also entrench a practice that upcoming politicians and public office holders would benefit fromWhen you refuse to come, that could mean that there is skeleton in your cupboard.Interestingly, we are going to be inviting prominent people like Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who recently sponsored a bill to make giving back to the society compulsory for corporate organizations based in the country.Although the bill has not been passed, we believe we would be able to shed more light on it and also do some advocacies on why government should expedite action in passing such a bill.When is the project going to be launched'On December 7, we are holding the premier of the concept branded GivingBack Television (GBTV) Show.The theme is Beyond Charity, For Humanity. This explains the essence of the concept, which says we should not be giving back only for the sake of charity, but because we are soldiers of humanity.The launching is going to be a high profile event. We are expecting high-profile people, including the immediate past Senior Special Adviser to President (on Petroleum Matters), Dr Emmanuel Egbogah, as the Chairman of the occasion.We are also expecting the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the guest speaker. Our special guest of honor would be Governor Peter Obi and the chief host, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State. The Keynote speaker would be the Founding President, League of Anambra Professionals, Dr Ndi Onuekwusi.We also wants to have a line-up of some illustrious Nigerians who have done so much, especially in the area of giving back to the society. Among these people are Dr (Sir) Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi, President, Nestoil Plc; Dr Leo Stan Ekeh, the Chairman and Group Managing Director, Zinox Group; Mr Patrick Ifeayin who was reputed for crashing the cartel in the Kerosene industry.There is also another man, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Limited and founder, Daniel Ojiako Memorial Foundation, Dr (Sir) ABC Orjiako. Besides, we have quite a number of professionals who are going to represent diverse interests in the corporate environment.How and where will the programme be transmitted'GBTV Show is going to be a 30-minute weekly programme that is going to be aired episode by episode. If we want to talk about The Guardian Newspaper, for instance, we would x-ray the company, looking at what it is going to give back to the society. We would also bring somebody from the company to shed light on such activity.And if you say, for example, Guardian has built roads in Agbara-Otor, we would go there and ask people to confirm what you are claiming.
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