This vision, encapsulated in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, remains very relevant today as it was in year 2000 when the challenge was first thrown at the developing world.

Sadly, these global aspirations remain largely unrealised in Africa, and in Nigeria in particular. Whether this can be attributed to the dissonance between public and private sector interpretation of the concept of sustainability, or the unfortunate displacement of true collective and corporate social responsibility (CSR) with philanthropy, remains debatable. In 1987, when the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, a publication focused on the multilateralism and interdependence of nations in the quest for a sustainable development path, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) universe had its operational essence redefined. It said: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”