*Photo: Aliu Akoshile*
The planting of trees to mark the 30th anniversary of the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) has been described as a sign of the association’s evolution from reputation defense to environmental advocacy.
Pioneer Brand Manager of the former NUB International Bank Limited, Aliu Akoshile said the initiative reflects how far banking communication has matured since ACAMB’s founding in 1996.
In a goodwill message to ACAMB President, Jide Sipe, on Monday, Akoshile said: “Back in 2001 at NUB, our job was convincing customers that a new-generation bank could be trusted. ACAMB gave us the playbook — ethical messaging and protection of the industry’s name.”
Akoshile, who later transited to FirstInland Bank and FinBank following banking consolidation in 2005 and 2007, said: “Seeing that same body planting trees 30 years on tells me we’ve moved from protecting reputation to protecting the environment that sustains banking itself.”
Aliu Akoshile who is now the publisher and editor-in-chief of NatureNews, Africa’s foremost environmental newspaper, said the symbolism of naming trees after banks carries weight beyond public relations. “Naming trees after banks isn’t just PR. It’s a public promise,” he noted.
“Lekki’s shoreline is receding, floods are displacing people, and customers are asking what their bank is doing beyond CSR sloganeering”, said the Publisher.
He urged ACAMB leadership to push member banks toward sustainable environmental action based on disclosure of their carbon footprints and energy transition plans for the next decade.
“ACAMB’s next 30 years should make environmental disclosure as normal as the Bank’s quarterly results. That’s how to keep trust in this climate and sustainability era,” said the veteran brand manager.
Aliu Akoshile also paid tribute to his PR mentor and pioneer President of ACAMB, Kabir Dangogo, who passed away last year. “Mallam Kabir taught me that a bank’s word is its strongest vault. He would have been so delighted with the tree-planting exercise because he believed ACAMB was founded for the times ahead.
He said Kabir Dangogo, in his characteristic frankness, would have insisted that planting trees must be based on planting truth about our environment in every Bank’s annual report.”
ACAMB commenced its 30th anniversary activities on Monday with the tree-planting exercise at Providence Street, Lekki Phase 1, where representatives of member banks planted trees in the name of their institutions.