Neoliberal Corporate Governance, Oil MNCs and the Niger Delta Region: The Barriers to Effective CSR

In recent years, oil has become a dominant feature of the Nigerian economy. For almost two decades,

the Niger Delta region – where the oil is primarily situated – has been engulfed in crisis which

continues to prove adverse to the socio-economic development of the country. Many have argued that

the unrest in the region is rooted in the inability of MNCs to act in a socially responsible manner. The

MNCs argue that the various CSR projects they have initiated and implemented should be enough to

satisfy host-communities.

This research seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge in this area. It assesses whether CSR in its

contemporary form is capable of making a significant contribution to the resolution of the Niger Delta

crisis. It examines the nature of contemporary CSR in the context of the essentially neoliberal forms

of corporate governance which have risen to dominance in recent years. In the course of the research,

the thesis identifies and separates for analytical purposes, a number of interconnected but

distinguishable barriers that render the CSR practices of MNCs ineffective – ideological, practical and

political barriers. It suggests that these barriers, rooted mainly in the Anglo-American neoliberal

shareholder value model of corporate governance and promoted by international organizations

including the OECD, the World Bank and the IMF, militate against the realization of effective CSR,

both in Nigeria specifically and, perhaps more generally.

It argues that given the current dominance of the ‘maximizing shareholder value’ model of corporate

governance – both in Nigeria and internationally – it will not be advisable to pin too much hope in

CSR as a solution to the problems in the region. Neither the culture of corporations, nor the pressures

to which they are currently subjected encourage socially responsible behaviour. The thesis equally

argues that the problem in Nigeria is exacerbated by the country’s political situation and the close

links between MNCs and key state officials.

In view of the arguments developed in the thesis, one of its main conclusions is that the existence and

operations of these barriers render the CSR practices of MNCs in the area ineffective.