On Dec. 10, 2024, the Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy and Ethics (CSAAE), owners of C-Advocate Newspaper, will roll out the drums to wind up the celebration of its 10 years of impactful service to humanity.
From the dungeons of obscurity, through a decade of hard-work, to successes that speak volumes, we at C-Advocate enjoin all our readers to be part of this success story.
As the December 14 grand finale of CSAAE’s anniversary celebrations nears, C-Advocate gives you a peep into the history of a once infantile organization, one that has now grown in leaps and bounds.
The CSAAE is a non profit organization that pursues a socioeconomic program that fosters entrepreneurship, youth and women empowerment, quality and inclusive primary education and healthcare, environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation.
The Centre also pursues an advocacy program that advocates for good governance, human rights, the rule of law and anti corruption, as well as an ethics program that promotes ethical leadership, professional and business ethics.
The CSAAE carries out its operations from its head office in Owerri, the Imo state capital, with technical support from its office in Maryland, USA.
As a graduate student, the Founder and Chief Executive of CSAAE, Rev. Fr Dr Godswill Agbagwa, studied the root causes of poverty in Africa and concluded that leadership failures, loss of social and moral sense, and lack of entrepreneurial spirit were key issues.
He believed that empowering young people could transform Nigeria; thus, he established CSAAE, focusing on the youth who make up 62% of Africa’s population.
His experience with poverty as a teenager led him to dedicate his priestly ministry to integral social and human development.
In 2010, therefore, while studying abroad as a graduate student in the USA, he decided to establish CSAAE as a platform to advance integral social and human development in Africa and across the world with core values including Punctuality, Integrity, Creativity, Accountability and Solidarity (PICAS).
Poverty set in quickly after his father’s death, and young Godswill and his siblings struggled to meet basic needs such as food, medical care, and tuition.
He however, dreamed of a better Nigeria, inspired by false promises from a corrupt military junta about a prosperous future and, despite the harsh reality of unfulfilled political promises from a ruling junta, these dreams persisted and have gradually metamorphosed into the CSAAE that we celebrate today.
Following his priestly ordination in December 2003, Dr. Agbagwa’s experiences with poverty led him to focus his ministry on social and human development.
His passion intensified in 2008 while studying in the United States when he witnessed basic amenities in developed countries, and questioned why such necessities were luxuries in Nigeria, his home country, thus strengthening his commitment to addressing poverty and underdevelopment.
Fr Agbagwa’s expertise in social and human development has garnered international recognition; he represented African Civil Societies at the World Bank and IMF and spoke at prestigious events such as the Harvard University African Development Conference.
His organizations have received special consultative status at the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC).
He is a prolific writer and speaker on social development issues and has authored several books and articles. He has also received numerous awards, including the most achieving alumnus award from Seat of Wisdom Major Seminary.
For the records, CSAAE is a registered NGO in Nigeria; a 501(c3) nonprofit in the United Staes; an organization in special consultative status with the United Nations’ ECOSOC and a former representative of African civil societies at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) civil societies working group.
Today, testimonies abound of individuals who have, in many ways, been impacted by the work done by the CSAAE in Nigeria and beyond.
Follow C-Advocate’s next publication on CSAAE’s anniversary series on this website as we take a look at the myriad impactful achievements of the Centre in the last decade.
