THE UNTOLD STORY OF NFCS UNIMAID

1. HISTORY OF NFCS:
    Nigeria Federation of Catholic students, NFCS, trace her origin and visions to the movement towards peace in Rome by some Catholic students. This movement is affiliated to "International Movement of Catholic Students", IMCS Pax Romana.

    Pax Romana was founded officially on 19th of  July, 1921, 23 students leaders from all over war torn Europe, the United States, Argentina and Java (Indonesia) met in Fribourg, Switzerland (from Pope Benedict XV) for the first Pax Romana congress. Thereafter, the movement later spread to many countries in Africa, Europe, America, Asia and Australia. The movement is recognised by the Holy See and is a member of United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOC) with “B” Status, and accredited consultative status in Department of Public Information (DPI) and UNESCO since 1949.

    Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students, NFCS, which is "IMCS Nigeria", was formed in 1956 by some visionary students, under the leadership of late Prof. Ambrose Ali (who later became Governor of old Bendel State). It started from the University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos (Now Federal University of Technology, Lagos). It was approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN.

2. SCOPE OF THE NFCS:
    Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students, NFCS, is affiliated to the International Movement of Catholic Students, IMCS, whose Headquarters is in Paris, France, and its PAN-African Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
    In Nigeria, NFCS is in over 250 Institutions of Higher Learning across the Nation and the seat of the National Secretariat was transferred from Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State to Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria after the last election which occured in the 2015 National Convention at Tansian University.

Operation
In Nigeria, NFCS is governed at the National level by the National officers assisted by members of the National Executive Council (NEC) which comprise of Presidents and Secretaries of all the Nine (9) Ecclesiastical Provinces within the country. The National Executive relates to the Province, the Province relates to the Zones (Dioceses) while the Zones relate to the Chapters.
The nine (9) Catholic Provinces in Nigeria are:

A.    Ecclesiastical Province of Abuja.
B.    Ecclesiastical Province of Benin City.
C.    Ecclesiastical Province of Calabar.
D.    Ecclesiastical Province of Ibadan.
E.    Ecclesiastical Province of Jos
F.     Ecclesiastical Province of Kaduna.
G.    Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos.
H.    Ecclesiastical Province of Onitsha.
I.     Ecclesiastical Province of Owerri.

NFCS UNIMAID

     NFCS UNIMAID Chapter is Under the Zone (Diocese) Maiduguri, which in turn belongs to the "Jos Ecclesiastical Province."
    There are Nine (9) Ministries/Subunits that make up NFCS Unimaid. They are;

a.       NFCS Praise Band (Music Ministry)

b.      NFCS Lumen Christi Press (Literary Ministry)

c.       NFCS Intercessory/Evangelical Ministry

d.      NFCS Academic Ministry
e.    NFCS Drama Band (Theatre Ministry)

e.       NFCS Welfare Team (Steward/Welfare Ministry)

f.       NFCS First Year Brethren (The Pillars)

g.      NFCS Final Year Brethren

h.      NFCS Multimedia Crew

The following the various Faculty bodies under the NFCS

·         Catholic Agricultural Students (CAS)

·         Catholic Law Students Association (CLASA)

·         Catholic Pharmacy Students Association (CAPSAN)

·         Faculty of Education Catholic Students Association (FECSA)

·         Catholic Science Students Association (CASA)

·         Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS)

·         Catholic Social Science Students Association (CASOSSA) [Management & Social Science]   

·         Federation of Catholic Engineering Students (FECES)

·         Faculty Arts Catholic Students Association (FACSA)

·         Association of Catholic Nursing Students (ACANS)

·         Federation of Catholic Medical Veterinary Students (FMVVS)

The formation of the above faculty bodies is in line with Federations desire of reaching out to all Catholics at the grass root, Catholic students in their respective faculties. The objectives are;

                                  i.            To encourage brotherliness amongst Catholics in their Faculties,

                                ii.            Serve as a medium of interaction amongst Catholic students for both spiritual and academic development, and

                              iii.            To provide grass root mobilization for the NFCS.

Patron Saint
    In 1998, St. Albert “The Great” was unanimously chosen by the Catholic Bishops` Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) as the patron saint of the National Body of NFCS, hence his feast day (November 15th) is declared as NFCS National Day which is celebrated nationwide.


3. THE NFCSer:
    The Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students (NFCS), is an organized body made up of Catholic Youths who are Students of Tertiary Institutions. It is the umbrella body of all Catholic students in all Universities and other institutions of higher learning, including Major Seminaries in Nigeria. In other words, if you are a student of (let's say) "UNIMAID", and you consider yourself a member of the Catholic church, then you automatically belong to the NFCS and you are privileged as well as obligated to participate in its Social, Financial and (most especially) Spiritual activities.

    Moreover, as is expected of every member of the Catholic Church, you must belong to a ministry or society in the church. However, you must first register with the NFCS before joining or being accepted into any group in the Chaplaincy.

    Furthermore, NFCS helps build the life of the student by organizing weekly Fellowships (on Thursdays by 6:00pm), seeking ways to ameliorate the numerous challenges students face in their school life, as well as offering moral, academic, financial and social assistance(s) according to its strength on any given circumstances. The body; NFCS also hosts conventional events periodically at different tertiary institutions across the Nation. These conventions are at different Levels
i.      Diocesan
ii.     Provincial and
iii.   National

    As a Catholic Student with 4 or 5 years (or possibly more depending on your programme/discipline), this is an opportunity for you to relate and share ideas/experiences or inspirational guidance with students from other tertiary institutions like DELSU. No Catholic Student should miss this adventure.

   Researched, Compiled, Edited and Written by: Emmanuel E. Onyekwere (NFCS Bible Study Secretary, 2017/2018)

NFCS! Living The Faith... Who Cares? NFCS Does...!