SCGN Founder’s Message
Establishing the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria (“SCGN” or the “Society”) was borne out of a series of events of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Scandals touching on Enron, Bank of Credit and Commerce International (UK), and Maxwell Communications had happened, and the world was still relieving the impacts of these scandals.
In response, there were emerging market and regulatory cha
There was also a rise in scholarly works to ascertain the causes of the corporate collapse and the most preferred ways to ensure corporate success. Nigeria had a dearth of research in this area of law and management. My works examined the purpose of corporations, the essence of good corporate governance mechanisms and the ways to avoid the occurrence of such scandals in Nigeria. Subsequently, I was opportune to assist the Securities and Exchange Commission in drafting Nigeria’s pioneer Code of Corporate Governance for Public quoted companies in 2003.
In the drafting stages of the Code and from my research, I saw the need for the creation of an organisation which promotes the conduct of research and continuous exploration of ways or means of improving and developing companies’ boards of directors and which conducts workshops, seminars and other like programmes for directors and chief executives in companies particularly, publicly quoted companies for the purpose of enabling them to meet the high standard of performance expected of them as a board.
This inspired me to establish the Society for Corporate Governance, Nigeria on March 30, 2005.
Other drivers for the establishment of the Society include the lack of necessary skill set and competence by boards and management teams, the dearth of meeting fora for company directors and other stakeholders on issues of corporate governance in Nigeria and many other associated issues.
The Society was created to solve these problems by providing data and research on corporate governance practices in Nigeria, providing training to Boards and other potential members of the Board of companies, conducting research on the level of corporate governance compliance in Nigeria, and advocating for the corporate governance development in Nigeria.
Over the years, the Society has made giant strides in solving the problems through its services and activities.
The Journal for Corporate Governance was established in 2009 and soon became the foremost corporate governance journal in Nigeria, providing a platform for practitioners and academics to critically discuss burning corporate governance issues. The Directors’ Governance Programme was also launched.
The Society began providing board evaluations in response to the needs of boards. These board evaluations track board efficiency, sustainability and other related corporate governance metrics of organisations. The Society has also been at the fore in advocating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) implementation and Reporting.
The Society’s research and publication works have created an array of resources for both practitioners and academics and increased the corporate governance knowledge base in Nigeria.
The membership opportunities provided by the Society have created a forum for collaboration with persons interested in corporate governance. Over the years there has been an increase in the Society’s membership which has also improved the quality of the deliberations and interactions in the Society.
The Society continues to enjoy wholesome collaboration with industry regulators such as NAICOM, PENCOM, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission and many others who play major roles in creating the corporate governance regime for the country.
The Society is committed to improving its international collaborations in order to improve its outreach to other countries across Africa and the rest of the world.
Above all, the Society continues to provide exemplary leadership in best corporate governance practices for members and all interested in ethical leadership.
Yours Sincerely,
Professor Fabian Ajogwu, SAN
Founder, Society for Corporate Governance, Nigeria