Public-private CSR face-off

Let us go this route today. Yes, let’s even compare efforts: A little CSR face-off won’t hurt. Would it? Now take our public and private sectors, for instance: Who’s done more CSR?

We can agree that few issues spark more debate than who shoulders the burden of rebuilding public schools in Nigeria.

On one side, the government, federal, state, local is constitutionally responsible. On the other, companies with deep pockets and public expectations are stepping up with corporate social responsibility.

Note that this CSR face-off is not just a corporate marketing exercise. It raises essential questions: Are corporations filling a void left by the government, or should they be collaborating with it? And above all, who has delivered more when rebuilding Nigeria’s public schools?

In Lagos State, where infrastructure is supposed to be top of mind, local governments have been under pressure for years to rehabilitate primary schools that often resemble abandoned warehouses. While some aesthetic improvements such as fresh paint, roof repairs are visible, classrooms lack functioning blackboards, desks, toilets, and even windows.

Over the last three years, the Lagos State Ministry of Education has recorded over 150 primary school buildings in need of urgent renovation, yet court interventions show that fewer than 40 have been fully rebuilt. Corruption, budgetary constraints, and inconsistent execution have been blamed. Let’s make this matter for another day.

Recall that Guinness Nigeria, launched a partnership in 2023 with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board. Rather than just paint walls, the brewer committed to a full renovation of four public primary schools across Alimosho and Ikorodu local government areas.

Proven by before-and-after photos shared widely on social media, these schools received new classrooms, functional libraries equipped with books, improved sanitation (with separate gender-specific toilets), and clean water boreholes. They also benefited from after-school reading programmes facilitated by volunteers. This rollout, completed in just six months, stood in contrast both to past government efforts and to structural promises made but undelivered.

That same comparison plays out across states.

In Kano, government claims to have reconstructed 80 primary school buildings in 2024. Yet third-party verification including school headmaster testimonies gathered by civil society groups shows that only 25 received substantial rehabilitation. The remainder received minor fixes like paint or roof patching.

In contrast, Flour Mills Nigeria, through its Flourish with Flour Mills CSR programme, rebuilt three dilapidated schools in the Tudun Wada area during the same period. Their rebuilds prioritised also classroom furniture, fencing, provision of lab equipment and school garden setups aimed at teaching basic agriculture. These builds were unveiled publicly and continue to be praised by community members.

What stands out is that corporate rebuild initiatives are often faster, more complete, and more community-centric than government efforts. They are not perfect yes because concerns about sustainability, dependency, and scalability linger but they offer a stark contrast to the status quo.

They are not at the mercy of budget cycles or bureaucratic delays, and they often come with added value such as reading programs, teacher training, and community involvement.

However, it would be unfair to paint all government efforts with the same brush of underperformance. The Enugu State Government, working in partnership with UNICEF, launched a flagship teacher training and school upgrade project in 2022. Known publicly as the Smart Classrooms Initiative, the program includes solar-powered classrooms, teacher capacity building in math and science, and local curriculum adjustments.

Reports show that 60 of 200 pilot classrooms have been completed, with additional photocopiable teaching materials provided. But slow procurement processes and delays in grant disbursement have slowed progress. The contrast between these more strategic government initiatives and ad-hoc corporate rebuilds proves that capacity and intention exist but execution remains inconsistent.

From a community perspective, what matters most is impact: Are children returning to school? Are dropout rates falling? Are pass rates improving?

On that front, both government and private efforts produce wins.

In Alimosho, Lagos, attendance at one school improved by 35% within three months of being rebuilt. In Tudun Wada, Kano, Flour Mills Nigeria records show an increase in student enrollment and teacher retention. In Enugu, the Smart Classrooms Initiative has contributed to modest improvements in standardized test scores. Yet without a centralized reporting mechanism, these fragmented wins remain anecdotal and localized.

The private sector’s advantage lies in agility. With budgets ringfenced for CSR and fewer bureaucratic loops, corporate-led school rebuilds can deliver tangible change quickly. These companies also understand the power of visibility: Rebuilt schools help build positive brand perception, stakeholder goodwill, and ESG reporting credibility.

CSR REPORTERS recalls that Guinness Nigeria and Flour Mills both published detailed project updates, including videos and community testimonies, showcasing progress and inviting stakeholder involvement.

Still, there are questions about equity, sustainability, and coordination.

Can private companies address all failing schools? Should they be rebuilding schools at all when governments are responsible? What happens when CSR budgets run dry or priorities shift? Is there a plan to hand over these rebuilt schools for public maintenance, or will they slowly return to the same state of disrepair after the initial shine wears off?

Some CSR leaders are addressing these concerns by signing memoranda of understanding with state education boards, transferring legal ownership of facilities, securing long-term maintenance funding, and building school management committees. Such strategies are becoming more common, especially in the South-West, where private school revitalizations are often followed by a two-year commitment to training teachers and setting up parent-teacher collaboration frameworks.

Meanwhile, governments are feeling the pressure. Officials in Lagos and Kano have been prompted to respond: Sealing contracts with civil society organizations for school assessments, allocating higher portions of education budgets to capital projects, and inviting corporate partners to participate in multi-stakeholder task forces. These steps, though nascent, signal that the private sector’s visible victories are pulling governments toward collaboration and accountability.

This dynamic sets up a broader CSR face-off that isn’t really a battle. It is a mirror. It is also a challenge. The question is not whether a company or a government can rebuild schools, it is whether they can rebuild expectations. When Guinness Nigeria rolls out fully equipped classrooms faster than local government, citizens begin to ask: Why can’t both?

The real opportunity lies in synergy. Private capital can plug gaps with speed and flexibility. Government can bring scale, regulatory support, and institutional continuity. Together, they can develop frameworks for identifying schools in need, prioritizing interventions, co-financing rebuilds, and collaborating on monitoring and impact evaluation.

For example, a coalition model could pair a state ministry, a corporate sponsor, and a CSO to jointly identify neglected schools, co-fund rebuilds, provide teacher mentorship, and track student performance over time. This model has been piloted in limited form by philanthropic organizations in Oyo State, but corporate-led CSA school partnerships remain rare. The ambition now is to turn these pilot models into recurring programs that align with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

If corporate CSR is meant to be more than marketing, and if governments truly want to galvanize public trust, then public school rebuilds offer a unique testing ground. It is messy and it is political. But it is also deeply symbolic. Rebuilt classrooms tell a story of possibility that public education isn’t dead, that intervention can be meaningful, and that leaders whether civic or corporate are paying attention.

For Nigerians, the takeaway is clear: evaluating who has done more is not just counting bricks and paint. It is about transparency, speed, equity, community ownership, sustainability, and strategic alignment. When a company builds a school within six months with solar power, toilets, and reading programmes, it sets a new baseline. When a government takes a year to repair half a classroom with no follow-up, it invites scrutiny. Nigerians will notice the difference, share it online, and demand better just as they should.

In all honesty, CSR REPORTERS notes that the endgame is not one side beating the other. It is about creating a system where both are accountable, complementary and committed. Where governments scale and sustain, and corporations innovate and catalyze. Where every child in Nigeria’s public schools can walk into a classroom built with intention, maintained with care, and governed with purpose. That is the standard Nigerians deserve whether it is a corporate rebuild or a government-led project, it should stand the test of time.