From its inception, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. has put itself forward as a company owned by Nigerians, managed by Nigerians and serving Nigerians. This characterization of our values has informed the sectors that we invest in, the strategies that we pursue, and the resources that we allocate to our different priorities.
For the foreseeable future, three factors will define the stakeholder profiles to which we will be accountable:
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Our participation in diverse sectors of the economy
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Our sector-entry strategy, which has largely been through acquisitions
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Our participation and success in the federal government privatization program
As a result of all the above, TransCorp’s stakeholder profiles are an evolving mix, even as we have inherited ‘legacy’ stakeholder constituencies as a result of our acquisitions in the privatization program. We are acutely aware that because of the positive things that Nigerians have come to identify with the ‘TransCorp dream’, not only what we do here, but how we do it and are perceived to do it, will impact on the credibility of our company beyond the profits that we earn for our investors.
At TransCorp, we recognize that our corporate citizenship is where all aspects of our responsibility to our various stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers & contractors, communities, and tiers of government come together. Our corporate citizenship aspirations are based on the following values:
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Our growth and success as a company should benefit our communities
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Support actions that lead to strong financial results without unacceptable collateral costs to our employees, communities or the environment
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Maximize benefits for our shareholders, even while we recognize and admit the needs of other stakeholders
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Maintain accountability to our shareholders on how we allocate resources
Like other corporations across the world, TransCorp is faced with the following challenges:
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Building trust and reputational capital with our different constituencies
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Engaging the public in the design of the credibility metrics by which our civic behaviour will be judged
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Meeting and managing our various stakeholder expectations
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Balancing and resolving the dual tensions between, on the one hand, the occasional conflicting interests of our different stakeholder groups and on the other hand, resolving the tension between the needs of running a profitable business that is accountable to and creates long-term value for its owners (shareholders) and meeting the demands of non-equity participants’ constituencies
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Accountability, transparency and disclosure of how our corporation is governed for the benefit of all stakeholders.
These challenges present an opportunity for us to make choices. Frequently the choice between different lines of action, as long as we clear the compliance barrier and regulatory requirement, is not always obvious. Since there several stakeholder constituencies with competing demands, good civic action or credibility with one constituency may not be valued as beneficial civic action by another constituency. Therefore, the management of TransCorp maintains that we shall continue to consult with all groups, even as we remain guided by our enunciated values to ensure that we are adjudged as responsible, engaged and good corporate citizens. To this end, we accept recommendations for citizenship initiatives and partnerships from different stakeholder constituencies in communities where TransCorp or its portfolio companies operate.
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