In January 2025, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Micheal Ayanleke Banjo assumed office as CEO/Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), following his appointment by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). This leadership transition, alongside new directorate heads, presented a crucial opportunity to realign CSN’s mission, strengthen its vision, and reinvigorate staff commitment to its role in advancing the Church’s pastoral, social, and administrative mandates nationwide.

Recognising this, Melange Associate and Consulting Ltd, an Abuja-based management consulting firm with over two decades of expertise, offered a pro-bono leadership and strategic retreat as part of its corporate social responsibility in support of its sister company, Totus Tuus Sacramental shop, located within the CSN premises. The retreat, themed ‘Strengthening CSN Vision: Leading the Catholic Church in Nigeria Towards a Civilization of Love and Peace,’ held on 30th June 2025 at the CSN Conference Room. Its aim was to renew, align and empower management staff to implement CSN’s vision rooted in love, peace and Gospel values; while deepening their understanding of leadership roles in promoting unity, service and transformational impact.

The retreat pursued six key learning objectives, including deepening understanding of CSN’s vision, strengthening commitment to servant leadership, learning the role of culture and core values in effective teaming, fostering unity and collaboration, reflecting on organisational challenges to identify actionable strategies and promoting personal spiritual renewal aligned with Gospel imperatives.

Training modules covered include Effective leadership and servant stewardship in CSN., Understanding the role of culture and core values for a unified team in CSN while Syndicate Sessions discussed Strengthening servant leadership practices in CSN, Enhancing stewardship and accountability in CSN and Strengthening CSN’s organisational culture and living out its core values daily for team unity.

The retreat was facilitated by Dr. JKC Chime, CEO of Melange Associate and Consulting Ltd, a certified management trainer and ISO auditor with over 30 years of public and private sector consulting experience. Overall, it was a timely intervention to reposition CSN management for effective leadership in today’s evolving Church and societal contexts.