By Princewill Ekwujuru

Corporate social responsibility, CSR, as a rapidly developing key business issue is a concept that has attracted worldwide attention. Due to the demands for enhanced transparency and corporate citizenship, CSR embraced social, ethical, as well as environmental challenges. Today, companies are aware of the social and environmental impacts of CSR agenda.

This agenda has a close relationship with community development, CSR within multinational companies is seen as a vehicle through which larger, well known companies can contribute to the well being of communities by operating responsibly in terms of social and environmental issues. Global brands like Coke, Nike, KFC, Guinness, Shell, Mobil,   are  often under intense pressure from  the public. Much of those pressures are due to their unethical behavior in developing countries.

Today, some companies in Nigeria are aware of the unethical behavior of some of these global brands, thus have deviated from their ways, and Intercontinental Distillers Limited, IDL is one . However, the 21st century has seen much advancement in the issue of CSR, and there has been particular interest in the impact CSR have globally.

That was why IDL producers of Veleta, Action Bitters, when approached by His Royal Majesty, Oba Samuel Ojugbele, the Onilogbo  of Ilogbo, the company did not hesitate to jump on the opportunity to construct a block of four classrooms and two offices for Ilogbo Asowo Community High School. Ilogbo, Ota, in Ogun state, aside other projects it has carried out within the area.

However, the congestive and deplorable state of the sitting arrangement of the students drew the pity of the company, who promised to make additional donation to cushion the effect of the congestion. Before now, the students sit about 100 in a classrom.  Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Managing Director/CEO of IDL, Chief Peter Anegbe, said; “it is our most sincere belief that this project will go a long way in contributing to the growth and improvement in the standard of education in “our society.”

A good and conducive environment is a prerequisite for effective learning and quality education, quality education offers our children the best opportunity in life to realize their dreams and become the leaders of tomorrow. The Onilogbo on his part who clocked 72 year s  on the day of the commissioning, noted that he had made a passionate appeal to the company to provide more classrooms and offices for the school to cater for the ever increasing population of the school.

His words, “I am happy that this block of classrooms is commissioned today as a special birthday gift to me, he however prayed for the continued growth of the company. This gesture will go a long way to ameliorate the problems of the students.” He stated.

Principal of the school, Pastor Femi Awosode, said the gesture by IDL was a way of contributing their quota to the to the development of  education, ‘’not only in this community or state alone, but to the national level, because this have a way of cascading to the projection of what we expect as an ideal environment for teaching, learning to take place.”

“We will welcome other organizations, IDL has taken the lead, we want others to follow, as you can see we expect more buildings to accommodate the number of students we have, so that we can create very conducive learning environment for our students.”

A student, Olowolafe Abimbola, an SS1 student, said he is happy to witness the completion of the classrooms.For Afolabi Samuel, a JS2   student, this is the best building in the school compound, no one has ever thought of it, if not for the Oba, he however prayed that IDL grows in strength.