Distinguished Donors, it gives me the greatest pleasure on behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of CLEEN to warmly welcome you all to this premiere Donor Roundtable event, which is a gathering of philanthropic decision-makers who are deeply committed to strengthening governance, public safety, security, accountability and justice in Nigeria and exploring effective ways of solving our nation’s greatest challenges.

CLEEN Foundation originally known
as the Centre for Law Enforcement Education in Nigeria was established in 1998
with a focus on public safety, security and justice. The vision of CLEEN
Foundation is to be the leading civil society organisation on public safety, security
and justice in Africa. Our approach is through combined strategies that
optimise the efficiencies of both the supply and demand sides in partnership
with key stakeholders within government, civil society and the private sector.
The Foundation has operated over the past two decades with the mission of
promoting public safety, security and accessible justice through empirical
research, legislative advocacy, demonstration programmes and publications, in
partnership with government, civil society and private sectors.

The crisis of global insecurity has assumed alarming dimensions in recent years with the deterioration of global peace laced with tensions, conflict and crisis across the world. Specifically, Nigeria is operating in a context largely characterized by huge security challenges across the six geo-political zones of the country including insurgency, ethnic nationalism, campaign for self-determination, farmers-herdsmen crisis, militancy and kidnapping and abduction which has taken the centre stage in the array of the security architecture of the country. There have been serious economic challenges within the country which led to an economic recession in the year 2016 while corruption and weak service delivery remain key governance challenges. However, despite these challenges, on the political terrain, Nigeria has made progress in the sustenance and consolidation of democracy with over 20 years of uninterrupted civilian rule. CLEEN Foundation has operated for 21 years and has grown from a small organisation covering few states and communities in Nigeria with very limited resources to a well-known national institution with strong regional and progressive recognition within the region and globally respectively. CLEEN has over the years exhibited some strengths including carving a niche in the country as a prominent promoter of security, judicial and electoral reforms, having a competent and talented staff as well as a visionary and active board with global networks within the sector. It has forged enduring and forthright partnerships with government agencies, donors, civil society groups, and the private sector. It has a robust research and advocacy capacity and an increasingly enviable record of both intangible and tangible assets.

At the occasion of her 20th Anniversary celebration in November, 2018, CLEEN launched the sixth edition of her five-year strategic plan (2019-2023) with the main objectives of: promoting more transparent and accountable security and justice institutions in Nigeria, improving public safety and security through increased adherence to the rule of law and citizen’s participation in security reform, increasing public accessibility to data that informs and drives policies and reforms in public safety and security, enhancing the skills of primary and secondary stakeholders to improve public safety, security and Justice, repositioning CLEEN to become the leading Civil society organisation on public safety, security and justice in Africa. CLEEN Foundation will produce a complimentary resource mobilization strategy which will ensure diversification of its funding base and prioritise multi-year funding for our core mandate.

We greatly owe our success stories over the past 20 years to the immense support of international development partners such as: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Department for International Development(DFID), Open Society Initiative for West Africa(OSIWA), The U.S Embassy, The British Council, United States Agency for international development(USAID), Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund(GCERF), The European Union, Trust Africa, Partners Global, National Endowment for Democracy(NED), FORD Foundation, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), Creative Associates International and North-East Regional Initiative(NERI), Afrobarometer, German Embassy, Swiss Embassy, Canadian Embassy and the Netherland embassy.

We would like to use this occasion to extend our deepest appreciation to our esteemed and most reliable international partners for their consistent dedication to alleviating national and humanitarian challenges in the world and in particular building a more accountable, just, transparent & good government; resilient, informed and peaceful society in Nigeria where everyone can thrive. We are extremely grateful for entrusting us with your generous donations which have enabled us to promote our mandate and enhanced the skills of key actors within the security and justice sector. Further, we want to appeal for your continued support towards achieving our new strategic objectives for the next five years. CLEEN Foundation will continue its historic commitment to promoting public safety, security and accessible justice through our various interventions while exploring innovative approaches to enhance our work.

Thank
you all once again for finding time out to attend this event, I wish you all a more
successful and fruitful intervention in your philanthropic endeavours.

Benson Olugbuo PhD
Executive Director
CLEEN FOUNDATION