BCM (Business Continuity Management) provides organizations with a framework to ensure uninterrupted operations during disruptive events. While common in developed countries, BCM is still overlooked in Africa. The document argues that frequent disasters in Nigeria like flooding and bombings demonstrate the need for Nigerian organizations to implement BCM strategies to minimize risks and losses from disruptions. BCM planning is important as no organization is immune from potential crises that could halt operations without proper contingency plans in place.

1. BCM – A New Paradigm for Nigerian Organisations
Adelakun Oluwafemi Adeshola MBA Risk management, AIOR, ARMA
Business continuity management (BCM) is a relatively new concept that in the area of
business protection. However, organizations do not exist in a vacuum and
organizations must seek to understand where its application will bring value as well as
fits with other activities to support the achievement of organizational objectives. The
subject and importance of business continuity management has received significant
attention and awareness especially in developed economies of the world; however, it
has received little or no attention in developing economies of Africa and Asia and as
such many business leaders especially in Africa still do not recognize the starting
point in developing these capabilities.
Business Continuity Management is a management process that identifies potential
impacts that threaten an organisation and provides a framework for building resilience
and the capability for an effective response which safeguards the interests of its key
stake holders, reputation, brand and value creating activities.
Business Continuity Management (BCM) is a process that provides a framework to
ensure the continuity or uninterrupted delivery of critical business operations and
functions. It provides a basis for planning to ensure an organization’s long-term
survivability following a disruptive event. BCM serves as a risk mitigant
complementing a wider risk management framework, with direct focus on the
management, prevention and containment of business continuity and operational risk.
It involves instituting or developing strategies to continue the operations of your
business despite a significant interruption (to its buildings, IT systems or employees)
with the ultimate objective of restoring the business to pre-disaster levels.
No organization can have complete control over its business environment and as such
all organizations from all sectors will at some point encounter possibility of disruptive
incidents that have short and long standing impact on normal operations to the very
destruction of the organization. Organisations are faced with a variety of threats and
vulnerabilities as business disruptions can include natural disasters such as flood,
tsunami, fire outbreaks, power outages, system failures, man-made disruptions and as
such organisations would look beyond industry specific and a single class of crisis
and disruptive event.
Unfortunately, most corporation both in public and private sector still live with this ‘it
cannot be us syndrome’ i.e. ‘it will not happen to us’. The reality is crisis or disasters
cannot be timed or precisely predicted and can strike without prior notice, which has
the potential to erode huge amounts of government and stake holder’s wealth and
investments. This was practically the case with September 11, 2011attacks in the
United States which necessitated a revolution of Disaster recovery to a more proactive
and strategic approach of Business Continuity Management
THE CASE FOR BCM - Its relevance to the Nigerian Business
For Nigeria, the relevance of BCM should increasingly become an issue of concern
for proactive, forward thinking and strategic organisations. Many Nigerian
organizations ignore business continuity management or are ignorant of the need for
this initiative for a number of reasons considering that, Nigeria as a whole is not prone

2. to natural disasters such as earth quakes, tsunami and hurricane, forgetting that crisis
or disruption is not limited to natural disasters. It is important to note that business
disruption are not limited to natural disasters, but its causes are multifaceted including
human generated interruptions. The British standard (BS25999) identifies a range of
internal and external risks that could negatively impact on the operations of
organizations; including fire outbreak, system failure, power outages, flooding,
industrial action and strikes, succession failures, communication failure and any other
events.
For instance the flood experienced in Nigeria over the past three (3) years is an
indication that time and season are changing, the unimaginable is becoming
imaginable, and the unanticipated is becoming reality. However, Nigeria in recent
past has not witnessed such a degree of rain storm. Reports had it that most offices
became inaccessible especially in Lagos, properties were destroyed, lives were lost
and business activities became paralysed. In 2010, the flooding displaced more than
two million people and inn 2011 over 102 people were believed to have died from the
flood. In 2012, NEMA figures show that 7,705,000 people were affected by the flood
between July 1 and October 31 2012 with death figures of 398 people. In Kogi sate
for example, the most recent flood disaster rendered more than 600,000 people
homeless. Property worth more than 2billion naira was lost and business and
commercial activities were paralysed especially those involved in fishing and rice
farming. The education sector was equally affected as some primary schools were
shut down due to the sinking of school infrastructures and facilities.
This event will have a life time impact on business and families affected. Most
importantly, businesses locate on the island close to the sea metropolis should begin
to strategically think of the worst case scenario as experienced in Japan drawing
inference on the fact that the Japan earthquake erupted from the sea.
Again, the trend and frequency of bombings in Nigeria in recent times should be a
wake up call for Nigerian organisations. Yes some businesses might say they are not
affected by the bombings as they are not located in the northern region. This is very
short sighted because no one knows when Lagos or their region will be the next city
of attack. It is therefore necessary to take a proactive approach to planning and
preparing. Between October 2010 and March, 2013, Nigeria had witnessed over
twenty different bomb attacks and explosions by terrorist in different locations with
notable attacks on the United Nations office, police headquarters, Kaduna attacks as
well as the Christmas day bombings in Abuja. For example the bomb attacks in the
northern region of Nigeria will have a life time impact on business, lives and families
affected. Also communication network Giant, (MTN) was equally affected, its
network mast were been bombed which significantly interrupted its service delivery
as it became a crisis they had to deal with. Not only were they losing customers to
competitors, they incur substantial losses, reputation and brand damage. These losses
were as a result of the absence of business continuity strategy. However, if business
continuity management strategies were in place, this would have reduced the impact
of such event. Not only has Nigeria recorded loss of lives and property as a result of
these events, but these events have strategic implications for businesses and the nation
as a whole. From the international community, Nigeria is gradually becoming a
terrorist environment and this has a direct implication for foreign investments.
Furthermore, the recent Dana crash as well as its emergency response clearly shows
the absence of BCM in the aviation industry and lack of coordination amongst

3. emergency agencies in Nigeria. This should indeed be a wake up call for the air force
being a major stakeholder in the aviation industry and the Nation as a whole. The
crash and its responses thereto send a negative signal to the public and to the
international community on the effectiveness and preparedness of the air force,
emergency agencies and the aviation industry at large. This then becomes imperative
for the Nation to embrace Business continuity management, plan for different kind of
disaster with a view accord importance to continuity planning in the budgets.
The wide-spread of eminent incidents, frequent bombings and terrorist attacks as well
as the recent flooding in Nigeria have served to heighten the priority for embracing
BCM initiatives, underlining the substantial risk of major operational disruptions to
business and operations. The impacts of these crisis events should provide some
impedance for a more recognition and acceptance of BCM initiative as a strategic
function both in the public and private sector.
BCM is beyond just dealing with big impact; low probability events. It has become an
essential enabler of organisational resilience as part of business as usual (daily
operation) with direct attention and focus on identifying and protecting sources of
value and value creating activities within an organisation.
Why Implement BCM Strategies?
The answer is that, sooner or later, all business will eventually experience some kind
of disastrous events that will challenge their continuity. More often than not, crisis
events and operational disruptions have severe impacts and implication for businesses
which are often irreversible and this is why it is critical for businesses to make
planning for BCM a key focus for management and operational strategy. When crisis
ensue, organisations are exposed to losses ranging from financial losses, legal losses,
reputational losses and loss of human resource which ultimately cannot be hedged via
insurance.
Although, insurance on the short term will provide compensation and support in loss
events, it does not provide or guarantees organisational resilience. However, long
term issues such as reputational damage, loss of market share and customer
confidence are not indemnified by such insurance. There are certain risks that cannot
be protected by insurance, but can only be managed by contingency planning and
preparedness.
Businesses therefore need to develop and implement BCM strategies in all facets of
their operations as this will not only minimize their exposures and provide
reputational resilience, returns on BCM planning efforts will also be maximized.
Not only that Nigeria in recent times have begun to witness terrorist attacks and crisis
event which has put some business to a halt and claimed intellectual resources, threats
such as fire outbreaks, physical attacks, deliberate cyber-attacks are more significant
to business disruption and should be begin to put pressure on Nigerian business
leaders to strategically integrate BCM initiatives into their overall corporate strategy
with a view to preparing for the worst case scenario, as the worst is yet to happen. As
a matter of fact, companies can never be in control of their business environment and
as such, it is reasonable and logical to say that all organisations will at some point
face business continuity risk. Unfortunately, most corporation still live with this ‘it
cannot be us syndrome’ i.e. ‘it will not happen to us’. The reality is crisis or disasters

4. cannot be timed or precisely predicted and can strike any organisation without prior
notice, which has the potential to erode huge amounts of stakeholder’s wealth and
investments.
It is now clear that Nigerian organisations then need to have a holistic approach to
business continuity management, considering that the unpredictable nature of events
which can cause disruption continues to be a threat to which Nigerian enterprises
cannot afford to dismiss. Organisations then can either try to prepare ahead to deal
with an event or be caught off guard and suffer the consequences. Finally, unless
businesses prepare in advance, disaster and disruptive events will inevitably shut
down business operations’. It is unlikely that a firm without an effective BCM
strategy will react positively in a crisis event and the probability of its survival and
recovery is next to zero.
Adelakun Oluwafemi Adeshola
MBA Risk management, AIOR, ARMA
femi.adelakun@uptimeconsult.com