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Lagos
State Governor, Babatunde Fashola
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The
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and Civil
Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) have condemned the celebratory
reception accorded the Managing Director of British American Tobacco (BAT),
Keith Gretton, during a visit to the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde
Fashola on Monday, September 16, 2013
In
a statement jointly issued in Abuja, the groups said: “This is a major
miss-step by Lagos State and we owe it a duty to remind the Governor, seen by
many as a role model, that tobacco investment is worse than blood diamonds”.
Media
reports indicated that Governor Fashola had, while hosting Gretton in his
office at Alausa, hailed BAT for allegedly creating jobs since it began
operations in 2003, and added that the Lagos government would continue to
maintain a conducive environment for BAT and other businesses to thrive in line
with its objectives of “aggressive investment” in infrastructure and security
to improve the business environment.
During
the meeting, Gretton disclosed that Nigeria was one of BAT’s top 10 markets,
adding that the company would continue to perform its corporate
responsibilities to Nigerians. He also said BAT supported agriculture and
remits about N15 billion in taxes annually to the Federal Government.
But
in a statement issued in Lagos, ERA/FoEN and CISLAC said that their
findings revealed that the main import of the meeting was to secure Fashola’s
endorsement for BAT’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project for the
state at a time the state is considering a law to ban smoking in public places.
The
groups said: “We have gathered that BAT was making plans to donate Hilux jeeps
to the Lagos Security Trust Fund just as some corporations did a few weeks
ago. This is carefully planned so that BAT could interfere in the
proposed law to prohibit smoking in public places. This is completely
unacceptable.
“Tobacco
companies have demonstrated beyond reasonable conviction that they are enemies
of public health and therefore enemies of the public good. Their attempt to tap
into the profile of Governor Fashola to secure public acceptance is repulsive.
“We
therefore want plead with Fashola not to taint his political stature with
tobacco money. Any porridge from Big Tobacco will run the stomach! A good
research by his aides can reveal how political leaders around the world treat
funds from the tobacco industry.”
“What
we need in Lagos State is a strong legislation to make
corporations accountable for all costs associated with production and
profits, and in this case, to make the tobacco industry accountable for
the deaths, diseases, environmental, social and other
costs associated with smoking in the State.
“Not
only is this unholy visit very disturbing, it has confirmed what we have always
said that the tobacco industry will never subscribe to any form of regulation.
That BAT top echelon is visiting the Lagos State Government at a time the State
is contemplating far-reaching laws to regulate the marketing and sale of
cigarettes in the state is very revealing to the discerning.
“While
we believe Lagos, like any other state must attract investments, a company that
markets lethal products is definitely not the kind of investment that the
people of Lagos or Nigerians need. . The Governor’s pat on the back of a
company that has a track record of frustrating regulations is totally
unacceptable”.
“Human
rights and the business environment are interconnected because people are
involved. A decent environment for Lagosians means protection against indignity
of all sorts including exposure to dangerous products like cigarettes, direct
smoking, second-hand smoking or third degree smoking”.
“We
want to remind the governor that the choice of Lagos by BAT is informed by the
company’s belief that the huge number of youths in Lagos is a big market that
must be targeted as replacement smokers for a dying generation of smokers”.
“Rather
than open its doors to BAT at this point, we feel the Lagos state government
should take a cue from the Federal Capital Territory and other states that have
gone as far as declaring smoke-free public places, ban on public smoking and
other regulatory steps against tobacco manufacturing firms”.
“The
governor rightly posited that many of the diseases today are caused by the
lifestyle choices that people make. We submit that BAT and other tobacco
companies through their misinformation, glamorization of cigarettes and
deceitful marketing strategies hide vital information on the deadly nature of
their products to users to get them hooked on cigarettes.
“This
suspicious visit to the Lagos State Governor is a continuation of BAT’s
strategy of ingratiating with government officials to seem socially responsible
while garnering good press.
“Our
demands are unequivocal: The Lagos State government should immediately revoke permits
for the company’s four million pounds headquarters which it claims to be a
demonstration of its commitment to Nigeria, and put in place far-reaching
tobacco control laws. Anything short of this is a license to the tobacco
company to continue the killing of our people”.
Signed:
Auwal
Rafsanjani, CISLAC
Akinbode
Oluwafemi, ERA/FoEN
Contact:
Philip Jakpor, Head of Media, ERA/FoEN
philitorium@yahoo.com; 08037256939
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