It was difficult to believe that a book launch would have so many people clapping till their palms whitened at the centre. The book was The 2008 Social Enterprise Report, a compendium of what the more sincere companies in the country had done out of a genuine sense of corporate social responsibility (CSR). But I later realised that it wasn't just a regular book.

When you add 'Awards' to the title of the book, you'd get SERA - Social Enterprise Report and Awards. I strolled across the red carpet laid out for high profile guests, into the 1,500 capacity Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Fridays ago, mid-August and couldn't help but notice that not a few guests - who were overwhelmed by the luxury that was laid out in celebration - wondered what the CSR hullabaloo was all about.

"On a Friday night, why are all these company executives here tonight with even Governor Babatunde Fashola represented here by a commissioner just for CSR?" a female TV reporter covering the event had asked. She was talking to no one in particular. But that got me thinking about the acronym, SERA.

I thought it sounded like Sarah, even La Casera. But the artiste that hammered it home was Obiwon, who wrote and sang the SERA anthem that evening:

The song brought home to me the essence of CSR. It isn't meant to be a pack of corporate lies or paying lip service to social enterprise. Neither Nigeria nor the Nigerian citizen prefers or deserves handouts instead of service.

When a company is exploiting the scarce resources of a people - oil wealth, cash crops, solid minerals, brain - and all it does in return is bribe a few pockets and build a few structures that do not even scratch the surface in terms of what its host community truly needs, and even then treats it all as charity rather than well thought out, well funded CSR, that company is only an accident waiting to happen as we all witness in the Niger Delta area of the country.

The same is true of the appalling attitude of politicians, career civil servants and technocrats in the three levels of government; local, state and federal. Rather than serve the people and the country honestly and let their 'take home pay' take them home, most of them have become daylight looters and assassins who do anything and everything to seize power, get rich quick and stay in power forever, however possible.

These opportunists in government would do well to imbibe a genuine CSR spirit; the kind that transcends their egos and fat pockets; that puts others and the country first before their greedy and immoral selves. Nigeria's presidents, ministers, governors, lawmakers, judges, service chiefs, customs and immigration chiefs, police chiefs and local government bosses need to get "born-again" into the CSR spirit as Christians would say.

Enough of governors who steal state funds then spend the remnant on buying buses, building ramshackle housing estates and rickety roads only to christen them after their inglorious names as if it was their personal funds they 'dashed' the people. Indeed, EFCC should arrest and banish governors who still do pre-medieval things like that to pre-historic jails.

The SERA event began at 5 p.m. with a red carpet welcome that got even warmer with cocktails and executive banters shared between early arrivals. The Social Enterprise Report 2008 was unveiled on stage by Ambassador Segun Olusola, chairman and founder of African Refugees Foundation (AREF).

A project of TruContact Communications Limited in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), SERA is designed to promote growth, sustainable development and livelihood in Nigeria by rewarding corporate organisations as well as individuals who have contributed to social giving and the social transformation of the country.

The theme for the 2008 SERA , 'Beyond Rhetoric: Making Your CSR Count', drew attention to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations and showcased the contributions of corporate organisations in achieving the MDGs in Nigeria. SERA 2008, which is just in its second edition, focused on projects implemented between January 2007 and May 2008.

In his welcome address, the SERA visionary and managing partner, TruContact Communications, Ken Egbas, recognised the partner organisations for the 2008 SERA. He said: "I am excited to have our partners here - the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)."

President of NIPR, Prof. Ike Nwosu, in a welcome address, said: "NIPR is solidly behind SERA because we understand stakeholder relations and we know that businesses that will grow and stand the test of time in this global and competitive era are those that constantly feel the pulse of their stakeholders and strive to meet their needs. Corporate Social Responsibility is a potent tool for reaching out to stakeholders, especially within our socio-economic and political context."

Chairperson of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, and Director of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Prof. Pat Utomi, deftly delivered keynote remarks.

Omoigui-Okauru refused to sound like the detestable tax collectors of yore. She didn't have to climb a sycamore tree to be seen either, unlike the diminutive Zacchaeus; instead she hugged the microphone - didn't pretend that her national assignment is a popular one - and explained why FIRS supported SERA.

In a nutshell, you can safely assume that only companies and individuals that pay their taxes dutifully can pass the SERA scrutiny and hope to pick awards. By the way, CSR spending by companies gives them appreciable tax relief. Aha!

Utomi made a very pungent point by explaining that CSR was not the same as plain old charity or what some have elevated to 'strategic philanthropy'. He underscored the fact that companies that continue to pay lip service to CSR needs or treat such issues with disdain would soon erode their own relevance in the marketplace.

He demonstrated how the CSR initiatives the old Platinum Bank (now one good half of Bank PHB) executed while he was its founding chairman actually inspired many Nigerians to open fresh accounts with Platinum.

Telecommunications giant, MTN, emerged again the overall winner, just as it did in 2007, taking home the award for the 'Most Socially Responsible Company in Nigeria 2008' as well as the awards for the categories of Women Empowerment (MDG3) and Most Socially Responsible Company in the telecommunications sector. Zenith Bank was the first runner up and Guinness Nigeria the second.

The nicely-carved golden SERA statuette went to other winners including the most socially responsible companies in the following categories: Poverty Reduction - MDG 1 (Western Union); Education - MDG 2 (Bank PHB); Child Health - MDG 4 (GlaxoSmithkline); Maternal Health - MDG 5 (Lulu-Briggs Foundation); Combating HIV/AIDS and Malaria - MDG 6 (UNILEVER); Environmental Sustainability - MDG7 (Guinness); and Partnership for Development - MDG 8 (Coca-cola).

Sitting there on the dinner table, though I came about 10 p.m. (very late), it made a lot of sense to me that this set of award was tied to MDGs. That instantly sets international standards for Nigerian companies who hope to pick a SERA award or even do CSR in globally-acceptable standards. Looking at Egbas and his TruContact staff, it also made an awful lot of sense that a PR firm like theirs is pushing the PR bar higher for companies who are ready to walk their talk by doing appreciable CSR projects rather than spend pittance on media razzmatazz.

Other awards included the most socially responsible companies in the: Banking Sector (Zenith Bank); Foods and Beverages (Coca-cola); Manufacturing (BATN); Arts and Culture (Fidelity Bank); Safety and Environment (Union Bank).

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) sponsored the award category - the Most Socially Responsible Company in Child-centred CSR, which went to De-United Foods (Indomie).

Joseph Chibueze of Financial Standard won the Tunmise Adekunle Media Award for CSR Reporting, which was inaugurated at the 2008 SERA in memory of a Nigerian journalist who died earlier in the year and was a member of the 2007 SERA Organising Committee.

(Interlude: If Tunmise Adekunle were alive, he probably would have qualified for a CSR journalism award himself. Though a bachelor till death, he worked with a huge sense of maturity; doing a yeoman's job as brand reporter and columnist for THISDAY newspaper. Not a few of his colleagues who attested to his consuming work passion, as they discussed issues of fate at his burial, feared that the young man probably worked himself to death.

Tunmise was handsome. He worked hard. He had big dreams. He died with those dreams and he would have died unsung, but for a posthumous recognition like the SERA statuette instituted in his name like the Egbas-led team has ensured. Adieu again, Tunmise).

The public had the opportunity to participate in voting for the Personality of the Year and Most Voted Company 2008 both by SMS and on the TruContact website. The results were provided by Celestine Uzor, CEO, SMS Nigeria; the company that was in charge of the voting exercise. Personality of the Year went to lawyer, acclaimed author, publisher and philanthropist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, and the award for the Most Voted Company went to Bank PHB.

Two state governors also got awards. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State received the SERA recognition plaque for 'Sound Environmental Practices (MDG7)', and Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State got his for giving due attention to Education (MDG2).

The awards for the Lagos and Kano governors were received by their representatives - General Manager, Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority, Sulaimon A. Yusuf, and the Hon. Commissioner, Project Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, Kano State, Ibrahim Garba.

Companies and individuals who contributed to other SERA-focused areas of interest also got recognition plaques. They are Dangote Group, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, Otunba Mike Adenuga, Dr. Newton Jibunoh (for his Fight Against Desert Encroachment - FADE), Mrs. Betty Irabor, Dr. Ameen Al Deen Abubakar, and Chief (Mrs.) O. B. Lulu-Briggs.

SERA 2008 was an eye-popping reality of what true service to humanity means, whether you are making money from it or not. Every CSR entry that won an award was put under the judges' microscopes, followed through with filming cameras and assessors to ensure that awardees actually put their money where their mouth is.