A BRIEF HISTORY OF NIFES(CU) IMT Alumni Fellowship
The fellowship in school actually started in 1979 as CHRISTIAN UNION with bro Joe Omokwe (Now Professor Joe Omokwe) as the president; brother Julius Eda became the fellowship president in 1980, Beloved C.E.C. Onoh in 1981 and bro Sam Nwokolo in 1982, (Now Samson C. Samson), bro Innocent Okafor in 1983 and a host of others.
The Alumni fellowship started as ANNUAL REUNION FELLOWSHIP, during which all the students and alumni members of the fellowship gather at campus 2. It was usually a weekend program. The joy that flowed among the brethren in the reunion fellowships is beyond the human realm.
The ALUMNI NATIONAL CONFERENCE became official in 1982, with beloved C.E.C. Onoh elected as the first Chairman.
THE VISION OF CUIMT ALUMNI WERE AS FOLLOWS:
The venue of the reunion later shifted to Lady Ibiam School as the population of members increased. From there the idea of moving to a special camp began to emerge with Professor Beloved C E C Onoh as the engine with which God propelled the fellowship. Other camps used include among others Camp of Faith Okigwe (COFO), Assemblies of God Camp Okpoto, Christian Retreat Center GRA, Anglican Retreat Center Trans Ekulu and Nondon Hotel New Haven. It has been a long journey of 42 years and today, the conference holds both virtual and physical alumni meetings.
The name Nifes(CU) IMT came into being after Gen. Sani Abacha’s administration banned fellowship on campuses. NIFES Governing Council ( the body organizing zonal and national conferences for christian groups in schools those days ) tried to intervene. The Federal Govt told them that they didn’t ban NIFES because NIFES was registered with the government. So all efforts to prove that NIFES was the same as CU on campus, proved abortive. The question they could not answer was why two names: NIFES at the headquarters and CU at the campus? So the Governing Council threw it back to students at the national conference in 1986. The issue of nomenclature was debated. After heated debates that lasted up to a year, it was finally agreed that campus fellowships should change to NIFES Fellowship or adopt compound name: NIFES/CU. So IMT adopted NIFES/CU in order to carry along brethren that graduated before this decision was taken.
It is sad to note that this year 2021Conference is happening without our beloved Prof. C.E.C. Onoh, as he now rests in the bossom of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God preserve his soul in eternal rest and May his labour of love in God’s vineyard speak for him in the day of reckoning in Jesus name, Amen.
