National Reputation and Corporate Governance
By PRINCE AJAYI MEMAIYETAN JP, FNIPR
Being a paper presented by Prince Ajayi Memaryetan JP, ENIPR at the National Institure of Public Relation (NIPR) state chapters chairmen meeting on 13th January, 2007 in Kano.
Introduction
A configuration and overall aggregation of Nigeria’s Corporate Governance and its National Reputation continues to create devastating beams of immense obscurity, even so intense in our domestic body politics. The apex or index of fresh emerging trends of activities in both public and private sectors of the nation’s economy appears perplexing. Today, the turn of affairs is that Nigeria’s nascent democracy has had and will continue to have pendulum tolls whose spiral effects permeate even the minds of the remotely unsuspecting citizenry. This remains so, as long as the present state of affairs about Corporate Governance and National Reputation is concerned. In this introduction, two contrary concepts have paved the way for an unruly marriage, as is evident in what the Nigerian situation is, with Corporate Governance on the one hand, and National Reputation, on the other. The emerging paradox then, is also the unruly political cohesion, which no one seems to be seeing as a time bomb which explosion will adumbrate fragments of national disintegration. This results in a level of disillusionment and an indication that Corporate Governance and National Reputation are bi-polarized detrimentally.
This paper concerns itself with emerging trends, resulting in the bipolarization of the concepts above. It takes a look on why government’s role should continue to sideline the indigenous domestic professional basics, by not using indigenous PR experts (image makers) to buildup National Reputation. The paper also views the role of government not creating a good business and political climate to sustain Corporate Government in both public and private sectors. Nigeria situation then becomes topically a focal area of analysis. Here, the presentation shall offer and critically examine and apply some theoretical and practical strategies, which if logistically adopted, can ameliorate the difficulties posed by the present predicaments or emerging trends.
Goodwill and effective communication
Afterall goodwill is based on effective communication and it’s the greatest asset that can be enjoyed by any organization. It is an indispensable ingredient in the relations between the government on one hand and corporate bodies on the other. Defective communication can do more damage because the parties mentioned exercise the greatest influence on the political, economic and social development of the country.
Therefore, public relations is not a childish business of pretending that only good things happen to one’s organization, people, products and services. When the company’s profit is down, important people resign, the work force goes on strike or products develop faults it is enough that mutual understanding is achieved. Examples abound in life of the thing that can go wrong without adequate preventive measures to avoid possible difficulties in future, and failure to maintain standards previously attained. The move of testing the waters without a thought for the PR implications of actions before they are taken had always led to fire fighting approach.
It is within our knowledge that some African leaders including Nigeria prefer to engage foreign communication consultants. It happens either when they face stiff opposition at home, or seek to implement unpopular programmes
Concepts definition and explanation
Corporate governance
This work will accept that as a new era of investigation, attempts at conceptual clarity and definition have not been easy (Schneider Lenne: 1992). Egwu, E. U. (1998) and (2003) then accepts that “Corporate Governance is defined as the way and manner in which companies, firm, or organizations (institutions) are directed, controlled, managed...” Following from this definition, the paper will focus on institutional controls and management.
National reputation
Sambo, A. S. (2001) posits a definition acceptable to this paper.
“...the reputation or image of a nation or country is the impression or opinion held by other nations, organizations, people or persons about that nation or country’.
National reputation is either good, bad, or neither. It can be earned or just an outcome of stereotype. It has intangible biddings with practical implications or consequences.
Indifenous domestic professional basics
Explainably, this paper holds the view that domestically in Nigeria, we have perfect and reliable public relations experts and gurus that can handle or manage the nation’s reputation, if given a chance. More often regimes go beyond Nigeria for reputation management and image laundering, avoiding the nation’s indigenous professional manager that is more valuable. By government sidelining these basics, immediate brains who have immediate and urgent solutions to aliments of national reputation and Corporate Governance are detrimentally discarded, compounding more problems in the emerging trends.
Emerging trends bi-polarizing corporate governance and national reputation
Until recently, the issue of Corporate Governance was not regarded as a matter of serious public policy significance. Indeed, before the publication of “watching the Boss” by the economists, on January 29th 1994; issues relating to Corporate Governance had little or no economic and financial relevance. However, the monumental failures recorded throughout the corporate world in the 1980’s and 1990’s seem to have forced into sharp relief a new orientation in the thinking on Corporate Governance. Appropriately therefore, the 1990’s have become the “decade of Corporate Governance” issues and question (Egwu, E. U. 2003)
The accessories that accentuate the survival of Corporate Governance have perhaps become something else as far as the Nigerian nation is concerned. Going by our working definition, Corporate Governance particularly as it affects our national standards is fine-tuned, dictated and decided from above.
Paradoxically too, can this trend of Corporate Governance balance with National Reputation? Where were the nation’s domestic professional reputation managers - (the public relations gurus) and why did the powers that be neglect them? Why did Corporate Governance and National Reputation become bi-polarized in the face of a rabble of P. R. perfect men. Otherwise known as engineers of consent.
The Crux of the matter
Nigeria will not go Singapore to fetch her experience in the building of relationships to enhance her version of successful Corporate Governance that balances with National Reputation. When the former president of the Singaporean Institute of Public Relations, (lPR.) - Miss K. Bhavani talked about building relationships for national and industrial harmony, it was time to think. In her presentation during the 15th Sam Epelle Memorial Lecture at Ashbury Hall, the Mirage Hotel, Calabar, January 2003, we all watched the profile of Singapore. In a similar lecture by Professor Alaba Ogunsajo, earlier during the 14th Sam Epelle Memorial Gold paper lecture of NIPR on December 13th, 2001 at the Integrated Cultural Centre Port Harcourt, Titled - “National Reputation in a Global Economy: the challenge to Nigeria”, a head way was made. First, the consideration was that Nigeria’s reputation abroad was too bad due to corruption, lack of individual, group and national discipline, violent crime, politically-motivated ethnic and religious crises, dishonesty among Nigerians and lack of basic infrastructures, etc. During the inauguration of a former governing council of the Nigerian Institute of Public relations (NIPR), on Thursday June 7th 2001 in Owerri, Imo state the past President - Mr. Bobo Brown identified Nigeria’s biggest problem to be bad national image and called for the treatment of the current Nigeria’s reputation. (NIPR NEWS October - December, 2001 :13-14). The question is, can there be a good Corporate Governance in a country with nasty reputation and where nothing seems to be working?.
An appraisal therefore of the current situation, can take us back to what is known to exist at the federal administrative rung. At the National Assembly, impeachment Saga of either the legislative heads or threats of the same nature to the president and commander-in-Chief, within the executives. At the states level governors as well as speakers of states assemblies are either impeached or threatened to be impeached.