The financial scandal at Cadbury’s Nig. Plc caught a lot of observers of Corporate Nigeria off guard. Not with an MD that was seen as a beacon in the industry. Bunmi Oni, who incidentally happens to be an old boy of my Alma Mater, was seen as a stand out in Corporate Nigeria. Under his leadership, Cadbury’s grew as a company and remained profitable. He actually won the “Man of the Year Award” in 2006 for his excellence in the corporate world.

Therefore, it came as shock when the story broke. Observers, largely in the informal gatherings, started a discussion on the root causes of such a totally unexpected turn of events at Cadbury’s. There was enough blame to go round. Some felt that it was Cadbury’s undoing, and by default, it was Bunmi Oni’s fault. Some felt it was the external auditor’s fault for not reporting the malpractice that went on during the periods in question. Some blamed it on the SEC for not adequately overseeing the activities of public accounting firms in Nigeria, by setting up a body that will be “Auditing the Auditors”, so to speak.

Whatever the root cause, the fact remains that the importance of the Cadbury’s event has been so downplayed, that one starts to think that we, as a people always miss the opportunity to learn from our mistakes. Yes, SEC came down hard. Bunmi Oni, his CFO, Internal auditor, and others within the company were severely punished. With punishments ranging from life ban, to lighter ones like 5-10 year ban from holding positions in Corporate Nigeria. The external auditors were also sanctioned. They were required to pay a fine for their role in the cover-up.

However, no mention was made of the SEC’s failure in performing appropriate oversight of public accounting firms, to ensure that the investing public can place reliance on their opinion regarding the financial health of publicly traded companies. This is to be expected because the SEC was the judge in this case, and I guess it is quite difficult for a judge to judge itself. With proper and adequate oversight, Cadbury’s auditors would not have been able to hide the company’s financial woes without someone blowing the whistle on it.

Another begging question is why has the EFCC, or whatever Government agency with prosecutorial powers over financial crimes, not arrested and prosecuted Bunmi Oni and his accomplices? This brings me to the main point of this article. EFCC is not prosecuting Bunmi Oni and Co, not because they look too good to go prison, but because the whole country will be shocked by the revelations that would come out of such a trial. Bunmi Oni has been vilified and no one wants to listen to the villain, because we always think of villains as the ‘devil’ that knew exactly what was going, and deserved whatever came out of it. I was curious about the Cadbury’s scandal, that on a recent visit to Nigeria, I brought up the issue with a highly respected accountant and an illustrious son of Egbaland, who told me pointblank that Bunmi Oni and his team were just fall guys in the whole scheme that was orchestrated by Cadbury’s Schweppes Int’l. He recounted his own experience in the hands of the foreign owners of some of the companies he worked for, and was emphatic in his belief that Bunmi Oni and Co were acting out a script written by their foreign owners.

Question still remain as to why Bunmi Oni chose to go along in the scheme. Those questions have to be answered for all to see the hypocrisy inherent in the behaviour of these foreign multinationals. They continuously, through their governments, castigate Nigeria as a corrupt place for business, whereas the bulk of the corruption that takes place has their fingerprints all over it – remember Siemens? Bunmi Oni must be made to answer these questions. What really happened? Was he acting out a script written by Cadbury Schweppes Int’l? If so, to what end?

There are three ways to accomplish this. One is for the EFCC to start an investigation immediately to obtain all the facts, and use the facts as a basis for prosecuting Bunmi Oni and Co. in an open court. Nigerians will have access to the real story during the trial. Another avenue is for the National Assembly, (Hello, do we still have one) through its committees on commerce, to conduct public hearings with the aim of getting the facts as a basis for enacting far-reaching reforms. One of which is for the SEC to set up a body like the PCAOB in the US, to oversee the activities of public accounting firms. The National Assembly should not be too focused on probing others, while the very foundation of the country’s existence is being eaten away. Bunmi Oni and Co must be invited, subpoenaed, if necessary to testify at such hearings.

The third avenue, which I personally prefer, is for Bunmi Oni to take advantage of his forced leave to reflect on the whole episode and write a book detailing what really happened at Cadbury’s. With little or no income, Bunmi Oni could sure use the money from such a book deal. The importance of such a book may not be seen right now, but for the upcoming generations within Corporate Nigeria, it will forever remain a reference point.

Whichever way all of these shake out, the fact remains that we must not lose the opportunity presented by this scandal. It should be an opportunity for Nigeria to put in place appropriate regulations to strengthen corporate governance by requiring adequate internal controls within publicly held companies. These regulations will not only help build the confidence of foreign investors, since we love them so much, but that of the investing public in Nigeria. Not to mention the enormous potential for job creation, if well managed.

Robot  # 1 | 21.09.2008 17:52

We must not lose the opportunity presented by this scandal. It should be an opportunity for Nigeria to put in place appropriate regulations to strengthen corporate governance by requiring adequa...Read the full article.