The Birth of the Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria (CABAN)
May 1st, 2008 will forever be a hallowed day in the annals of our Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria (CABAN). It is the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord and Labour Day/the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. More comprehensively, today is the first day of the month of May which the Church dedicates to our Blessed Mother Mary, “the Handmaid of the Lord” the first to hear the word of God and keep it (Luke 1:38).
Today, God has been pleased to give birth through us to our long-awaited Association of the Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria, described by many as “a dream come true”, “something new”, in this year that Pope Benedict XVI has dedicated to the Word of God (October 2007 – October 2008). The desire to form a new biblical association, based on the negative experiences of some Catholic members in the Nigerian Association for Biblical Studies (NABIS), had often been expressed. At the CATHAN meeting in Ekpoma in 2006, Fr Camillus Umoh had sounded persons who showed keen interest in forming such as association. But the association continued to remain a dream, until concrete action was taken in 2007.
Beginnings at Makurdi (Easter Week 2007)
This Association had its first exploratory meetings on 11th and 12th April 2007 during the annual conference of the Catholic Theological Association of Nigeria (CATHAN) in Makurdi. Members who were present at the CATHAN conference in Makurdi in 2007 will recall the impromptu announcement made at my request by Fr. Ignatius Obinwa, then Rector of Iwene Tansi Major Seminary: “Professor Okure would like all people with biblical formation to meet immediately after lunch in the room adjacent to the dining room”. The purpose of the “summons” was not stated, even the announcer did not know. Yet the “people with biblical formation” present responded with great enthusiasm to the call, though this meant sacrificing an hour or so of siesta.
As we were proceeding to the meeting place, his Grace Archbishop John O. Onaiyekan arrived for the CATHAN conference. As he got out of his car, I said to him “Your Grace, the biblical people are meeting next door to see whether they can form an Association. You will join us, won’t you?” Without the slightest hesitation or asking any questions, he said: “I am coming”. He did, straight away. This show of spontaneous solidarity from a member of the hierarchy was a source of great encouragement.
I proposed to the gathering the idea of forming a biblical association in Nigeria. To stimulate interest and enthusiasm in the proposed association, I presented copies of the comprehensive research programme that I had drawn up as Coordinator of Biblical Studies and Mission (BISAM), a research Interest Group of the International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS), which I had revamped and put on solid footing after it had been tottering since its inception in 1972. Copies of the programme distributed in Makurdi can be found in the Appendix of Teresa Okure, ed., To Cast Fire Upon the Earth: Bible and Mission Collaborating in Today’s Multi-Cultural Global Contexts. Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications, 2000.
The group at Makurdi showed its excitement for the nascent association by taking swift actions in the two brief (lunch break) sessions. Different suggestions were made concerning the name of the Association. Finally, I proposed the name CABAN (Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria) for the Association, based on CATHAN (Catholic Theological Association of Nigeria) of which I was a founding member at its inaugural conference at Bethany House, Onitsha in 1985. The seventeen people “with biblical formation” present at the impromptu meeting joyfully accepted the idea of forming the association and the name CABAN that I proposed for it. Since other Catholic associations related to the Bible existed in Nigeria (such as the Catholic Biblical Apostolate of Nigeria, CBAN; and the Catholic Biblical Instructors Union, CBIU), it was decided that the minimum requirement for full membership in CABAN would be a Masters degree in biblical formation, not in religious studies. Students who were still doing their masters in biblical studies could register as associate members.
Inaugural Team
The group in Makurdi entrusted the task of moving forward the Association to the three CIWA biblical lecturers who were present at the CATHAN conference and at the impromptu meeting. They designated me (Prof. Sr. Okure Teresa, SHCJ) as the Coordinating President and Frs. Luke Ijezie and Camillus Umoh as Coordinating Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. Some gave names of potential members, and all made a commitment to spread the good news to other “persons with biblical formation”. The momentum and enthusiasm generated at Makurdi about the association continues to grow in those who came to hear of it both in Nigeria and abroad.
Members present in Makurdi concretised their enthusiasm by making donations on the spot for the cause of CABAN. Fr Francis Nni of blessed memory, then a doctoral student of CIWA, was the first to donate N3,000 (three thousand naira, if I remember the amount well). Others followed suit. His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan said the coordinating officials would need money to prepare for the inaugural “convention”, as our conference was then called. He gave N300.000 (three hundred thousand naira) for that purpose. The free donations made in Makurdi were tagged “show of interest”. That is why new members are asked to donate freely to the cause of CABAN as “show of interest”, to keep the tradition going.
CIWA as Venue of the Inaugural Convention
A major hurdle that the CABAN Coordinating officials had to jump was to find a suitable venue for the inaugural meeting. In the end, they settled for the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), where all three coordinating members were located. This was taking a leap in the dark, as CIWA had no accommodation facilities for conferences, especially when the Institute is in session. Staff and students of the Biblical department were brought into planning this inaugural conference and worked in the different committees. The accommodation sub-committee did its best to explore possible places close to CIWA where members could be lodged. But their many efforts yielded very little fruit, especially considering costs and means of transportation.
Then, almost out of the blue, God sent an incredible windfall. Fr. Stephen Ziga Dedua who had registered newly early in 2008 at CIWA as a doctoral student, took it upon himself to contact benefactors who surprised us with their generosity. Mr. Patrick Ugboma and Mr. Eze Ugboma offered free accommodation to participants at their newly launched Algate Hotel at Abacha Road, Port Harcourt. The generous benefactors went out of their way to ensure that we had enough room for the numbers expected. In addition, they made available a new air-conditioned bus with a driver to transport participants to and fro for the entire duration of our meeting. What would we have done without their generosity?
In addition, Msgr. Joseph Tunde Ogunduyilemi, of blessed memory, lecturer and Chaplain at CIWA, greatly supported us financially, making available the Chaplaincy conference hall for our inaugural convention and giving opportunity for us to talk to members about CABAN. The talks generated great interest among the chaplaincy members. Some attended our inaugural convention on the theme “Alive and Active: Images of the word of God in the Bible”, and donated to the cause of CABAN. The students from the Communications Department of CIWA helped to video the proceedings of our first convention.
At its augural meeting in Port Harcourt, 30th April – 3rd May, 2008, Rev. Prof Vincent Nyoyoko of blessed memory proposed that the Coordinating President, Secretary and Treasurer be designated as substantive officers of CABAN. This proposal was unanimously accepted by the members.
From its inception then, CABAN has been self-reliant, seeking collaborators from within the country, refusing to go begging abroad for funds to carry out its activities. May this boast (cf. 1 Cor 9:15b) never be taken away from CABAN. Payment of any funds to CABAN are made directly to the CABAN account (Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria; 0045145384; Access Bank); not to the personal bank account of any officials, to register our accountability. May God richly bless our generous members and diverse home-based benefactors.
Long live CABAN in service to the gospel.
Sr. Prof. Teresa Okure, SHCJ
President
First constructed: 1st May 2008
Edited: 23rd December 2023