Badejo-Okusanya: Policy Somersaults Hurting Businesses in Nigeria

The Group Managing Director of CMC Connect, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, in this interview speaks advises government agencies and corporate organisations to adopt effective crisis management strategies as part of measures to adjust to the global realities. Ugo Aliogo provides the excerpts:

What is your take on crisis management in Nigeria, where do you think we are as a nation?

The most significant thing about crisis management is preparation. Once we do not have preparation in place it signifies the level of our crisis management. With the situation of the country presently, there are so many crises in all facets of the economy such as education, healthcare, security, etc. and the reason for these crises is that we failed to plan. Nigeria as a country is in serious crisis and I am not overemphasising.

What is the relevance of crisis management for businesses, and brands in Nigeria especially in this era of COVID-19?
The reality is that the nation has found itself in a crisis and businesses are not able to plan effectively. Remember, I said the bedrock of good crisis management is planning and preparedness. In addition to the global issue of COVID-19, in Nigeria, we have a situation of policy summersaults. Businesses and corporates do not know the policy changes that government will certainly roll out. Look at what happened to some of the ‘bike hailing’ startups that lost a lot of investments due to a particular government policy. Some had even gotten foreign investors to invest in Nigeria. Due to the uncertainties of the times, it is difficult for corporate organisations to prepare themselves for the future.

In other climes, people prepare for five or even three years ahead. But in Nigeria, an organisation’s one year plan is subject to significant changes because of government policies, government change and activities. For instance, an organisation that decides to invest or carry out any activity in a semi-rural area, such as raw material sourcing, can no longer do that because the dynamics have changed. For a construction company whose duty is to open up access roads to the farmlands, it is no longer safe to do so. Some of these construction companies run the risk of having their staff kidnapped. Before, only expatriates were kidnapped, but now I am sure many construction engineers will hesitate to go into the hinterlands to engage in construction activities. We know what has happened in the oil and gas industry regarding the issue of kidnapping. Indeed, the crisis we are facing has eroded investors and consumer trust in the system consequently affecting businesses.

Do you think brands, corporates, and government agencies are getting it right in policy formulation and implementation of strategic crisis management framework?
I am not sure how much mystic powers we possess to look into the crystal ball and know what tomorrow holds. Every business is bound to be affected by one government policy or the other. It is a known fact that the private sector is the engine room for growth and that the government in itself should limit itself to being an enabler. Do you know it is cheaper to ship your goods from China, Singapore or Europe to Nigeria than to move your goods from the port in Apapa to Ikoyi because of the congestion in the ports? Comparatively, if you bring in a container from overseas, it could take about $10,000 or $20,000. If you look at the cost to move it out of Apapa port, it’s like twice the figure.

So, that is a crisis because we did not prepare properly. An analysis should have revealed to us many years ago that the rail line that we have should have been well constructed and designed to easily move goods from the ports. Likewise, we should have long ago started barging some of our containers by inland waters to Onitsha, Lokoja, etc; or effectively utilize the ports in Port-Harcourt and Calabar, or even dredge the River Niger to open up its several economic corridors for business. We all know how the road to Apapa port was before a private organisation started repairing it. Even the electronic call-up systems in the port have crashed. So, suffice to say we are in a huge crisis now because we did not prepare and we do not have a manual for dealing with the emerging crisis. We did not see it coming, and if we did, we ignored it and that is why we are where we are.

Why did CMC CONNECT BCW embark on a survey in crisis communication? What sparked your interest to embark on this?
As a fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the globe, the question for us was how many corporate and government organisations were prepared for the fallout. From the survey, it was discovered that few corporate organisations were prepared for it; most were busy running their business. It is a known fact that a crisis has the potential to destroy your reputation or market share and in most instances both. So, having examined the issue, we realised that the market is ripe for a structured approach in dealing with crises management. As a perception management firm, we have worked on this in the past, but we have now decided to make it a front-burner issue.

Did the results of the survey meet your expectations judging by the challenges brands and corporates faced pre and post-COVID?
It met our expectations. If anything at all, we would have wanted more resources to make it more expansive because as you are aware, the wider your sample size, the more accurate your results will be. But even from the limited resources we deployed, it was evident that many companies were not prepared at all for the crisis. Secondly, the reactions of most companies to the crisis were slow because people did not know what to do and how to manage it.

What are the burning issues in crisis communications that organisations have not implemented in their management structure?
Like I said, crisis preparedness is vital. The burning issues: Every organisation needs what is known as a risk audit. You must audit the various risks and find out how they can impact your business. Secondly, there is a need for a crisis manual. We are reputation managers and there is no way we will talk about reputation and we do not talk about your business. The risk audit gives you a holistic view of the things that have the potential of affecting your business or shutting it down. Therefore, at some point in time, we will look at the issues of insolvency, running out of cash flow, etc. A risk audit looks at your vulnerabilities in their entirety. Even if two or three of the risks occurs, you focus strategically on the survival and sustenance of your business.

What blueprint will you suggest organisations develop to have a strong working crisis communication strategy?

For us, it is a three-step process. What we will do is prepare, manage and recover. The preparation stage is concerned with embarking on a risk audit and designing a crisis manual. It is important to state here that every organisation needs a crisis manual. In the preparation stage, we also talk about training for a crisis, so that if an organisation faces a crisis, they know the next steps to take and are ready to manage it. The manage stage of it is that we hold your hand and walk you through the crisis. So, as it happens, we are counselling. It is also known as the execution stage where we embark on implementation. At that stage, what we are trying to do is mitigate the impact of the crisis on business. I must emphasise that when we do that it is completely ethical, so, it is not at the risk of the lives of the staff or client’s integrity or corporate governance. The manual provides a roadmap in the event of a crisis, the operator can know which to attend to first. Finally, the recover stage helps us to stabilise the organisation and proffer solutions that will further strengthen reputation post-crisis.

How will you assess the current crisis communication strategy used by organisations and corporates?

We are not satisfied, which is why we came up with this service. It is what the survey clearly showed us that many people are not prepared. So, we are providing a service to address it. We are also embarking on an advocacy campaign. We are not just raising awareness for the public to patronize us, of course, we would like that, but we are saying that whether you come to us or go to somebody else, you must have a crisis manual, undertake a risk audit because it is a vital part of business sustainability. When you visit a factory, you come across Health Safety and Environment measures (HSE). This does not necessarily mean that there are safety issues right now but it means that they are prepared. Then you should also be able to do that when it comes to your reputation because sometimes, it is not the physical assets that are destroyed, but your hard-earned reputation and market share, without which the physical buildings are nothing.

Many of us do not comply with the dynamics of business. For instance, some small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) do not separate their businesses from their personal life. Their business account is also used for personal needs. Even if you seem to have some level of ownership in an organisation you need to institute corporate governance, it is the standard international practice. Also, part of the global standards in risk management and crisis management and is why we are advocating for it. The level of our literacy also affects our crisis management strategy.

In the United States, there is the ongoing case of the Governor of New York who is under fire not for rape, but for placing his hand inappropriately on some women. He is also dealing with some remarks he made which were or are considered inappropriate and suggestive to the ladies. In a clime where perception can make or mar your business, you do not joke with that. I remember during apartheid, some companies were doing business with South Africa and they were boycotted as a way of protesting against it. For instance, there was a time Lego and Shell went into a partnership and the fact that Shell had been accused of causing pollution in several areas they are operating, international environmentalist groups went for Lego because they postulated that anytime any product of Lego is bought, you are supporting the degradation of the environment which was caused by one of Lego’s partners. Therefore, Lego had to terminate the partnership even though it was not Lego that was causing the alleged pollution. In a country where perception and reputation are significant, you realise that most corporate organisations will not joke with them. When we talk about the assets of conglomerates, the biggest part of the valuation is based on reputation.

Considering the effect of COVID-19 on businesses in 2020, how does crisis management set the pace for businesses this year?

2020 was a learning curve for us, so it will be sad if we repeat the same mistakes in 2021. One of the learning is that we must be prepared for all eventualities. It will be foolish of us if we do not prepare just in case there is another pandemic around the corner. Each corporate organisation must have a crisis plan.

How can businesses deliver better outcomes in times of a crisis?
Businesses need to remain focused, innovative, and adaptable. For instance, in Nigeria, a major beverage-producing factory has now diversified into producing hand sanitisers. They are being adaptable. More importantly, whether you are delving into something new or staying where you are, you must ensure you mitigate your risks. The best way of mitigating risks is to have a crisis action plan in place.

Is there a difference between crisis management and crisis communication?
Crisis communication is a subset of crisis management. The entirety of managing the crisis is known as the management, while the communication is the exchange of messages between the various publics concerned.