The issue of corporate social responsibility did not become part of the normal topic for public discourse until the monumental neglect of the Niger-Delta Region degenerated into a national disgrace.Initially the simmering anger of the citizens of the Niger-Delta could only be directed at the oil companies that had a visible presence in their region. The Federal Government which had for decades benefited from the exploration of oil in the region was never a visible entity like the oil companies. To make the oil companies atone for their sins of polluting the environment, the concept of corporate social responsibility became a formidable weapon of demand.Corporate social responsibility was the topic of a lecture delivered at the Sagamu merit award ceremony which I attended last week. In the after-lecture comments, the audience situated the topic on the Sagamu 'Ikorodu road. The road constitutes a section of the old Lagos-Ibadan trunk A road.This road has faded in the memory of many Nigerians who since 1978 when the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was opened to public use, never had cause to travel on the road to Ibadan and farther. The old road simply became a link for the few towns on that axis. The residents of the towns on the road still see it as a federal road and this is undeniably true.The audience was split down the middle as some blamed the companies on the Sagamu-Ikorodu road for not rehabilitating the road. They blamed the heavy 'duty trucks that deliver raw materials to the companies and also evacuate their products for the huge damage done to the roads. To this group, the companies have failed in their corporate social responsibility.A prominent Oba in the audience rose in defence of the companies. He said the companies pay import duties on their raw materials, Value Added Tax on other purchases, excise duties on their products, company tax and several other taxes. In spite of all these, calls for assistance from the local communities never went unheeded. He asked rhetorically, 'do you want to kill these companies' Is it not the duty of government to provide infrastructure' The Oba forgot to add that the companies have their personal source of water supply and power generation.The construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads in the country are primarily the duties of federal, state and local governments.The lecturer who was stung by the criticisms that he unpardonably avoided discussing the Sagamu-Ikorodu road responded by saying that he was aware that contract for the road had been awarded FOUR times. He did not say whether the contract was for reconstruction or rehabilitation or mere patching as is being done by Bi-Courteney on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. I think it is the height of irresponsibility and prodigality for a government to award a road contract four times. It is scandalous if the contract was repeatedly awarded to the same contractor and shameful if the contract was shifted from one contractor to another on account of non-performance. A government that awards a contract and goes to sleep without bothering to monitor the contract execution can never be taken serious by the contractor.If we were to go by the argument of those who would like to see the companies on the Sagamu-Ikorodu road assume the responsibility for rehabilitating the road, we would be further encouraging irresponsible governance. I would dare to ask them which companies should take over the reconstruction of the failed Ore-Benin section of the Sagamu-Benin Expressway. They should also be able to think of which companies to contact to complete the construction of the Oyo-Ogbomosho section of the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway. Work had started on the construction of the Ibadan 'Ilorin Expressway as at 2001'10 years ago. The construction of the road spanned a period of unprecedented high prices of oil. Yet the federal government shamelessly lacked the finances to complete the construction of the Expressway. Worse still, it sits on 52 percent of the revenue accruing to the country. This is exclusive of other revenues that do not find their way into the Federation Account. Last week, the NSenate expressed its disgust at the state of federal roads in the country by calling for a declaration of a state of emergency on federal roads. The call was an admission of an indefensible failure of the federal government to live up to its responsibilities.It is ironic and inexplicable that the federal government is being encouraged to shirk its responsibilities under the guise of asking corporate organisations to assume social responsibility for the construction of roads .
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