.

 
Formal Launching
The steering committee that was formed sent out letters to military personnel and chaplains in military churches to acquaint them with the vision and the need to form a military Christian fellowship in the country. Responses received were very encouraging and so, by 1983, a decision had been taken to formally launch the NMCF. A draft NMCF constitution was produced based on Psalms 127:1-2:

‘Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for He grants sleep to those He loves.’ (NIV).

The NMCF was formally launched at the Christian Gospel Chapel, Headquarters Nigerian Air Force Camp, Victoria Island, Lagos on Saturday, 28 January 1984. Air Commodore I Komo (Rtd) then a flight lieutenant, was elected as the Fellowship’s first National President, Commander AD Idikwu the Vice President; Brother AK Nwanne the General Secretary, while brother GI Osaghae was elected the Assistant General Secretary and later the General Secretary. He is now a lieutenant commander in the Nigerian Navy and the incumbent Director of Naval Chaplaincy Services (Protestant).

Other pioneer leaders of the Fellowship were Navy Captain JO Badeji (rtd), (then a Lieutenant Commander), Air Commodore SY Ndauno (rtd) (then a flight Lieutenant), Group Captain KO Ayeni (Rtd) (then a flying officer), Group Captain Isaac Madaki (then a flying officer), Sister Sarah Komo and Sister Stella Ndauno.

NMCF First National Conference
The first National Conference of the Fellowship was held during the Easter period of the same year, 1984, at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Makurdi. Attempts were made to hold the annual Conferences around August but the decision was reversed to Easter period. The Easter period being free and a religious holiday was more conducive for such conferences. This first national conference was well attended. The main speaker of the Conference was Reverend Michael Ogbaji of the Assemblies of God Church, Makurdi. The Conference also referred to as the National Convention, has continued to be an annual event since then with some recent amendments. The Convention now holds biennially. Chapter conventions also hold biennially in the various chapters alternatively when there are no national conventions. The Conferences were held with free accommodation and feeding. National executives were elected to run the NMCF periodically according to the constitution of the Fellowship. Initially the Fellowship created awareness for personnel to identify with the NMCF. Later however, NMCF sought for those who were not only ready to identify with but also to sacrifice for it.

An Occurence That Moved The NMCF Further
During the Makurdi Conference in 1984, the NMCF applied for and was granted approval to use a C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters Lagos to airlift participants to and from Makurdi. On hearing that a free aircraft was available, many personnel and their families became interested in attending the Conference. The first sortie of the flight went successfully, but the subsequent sorties could not be undertaken due to a snag on the aircraft. Hence the rest participants from Lagos, including the National President then, Flight Lieutenant I Komo (as he then was), became stranded at the Ikeja airport. Consequently, they decided to move to the Chapel in the Air Force Base, Ikeja to have a mini conference instead. The following day the President was able to find his way to Makurdi where he narrated what had happened. This stirred up the entire brethren into a united prayer for the Fellowship. This spirit of brotherhood in the Body of Christ and the resolve that the Fellowship must succeed by God’s grace, no matter the odds, has been the moving spirit among NMCF brethren all these years.

The Objective
Though the vision of the NMCF was based on Psalms 127:1-2, it is known that the main objective of the Fellowship is evangelism; God’s great commission. This objective needed to be revisited from time to time so as to keep us in focus of our calling. Can it really be said of NMCF that it is bringing in the people that are supposed to be brought to Christ? When one is given a task and one loses focus of that task, one would not make any meaningful progress until one re-focuses attention on the person who gave the assignment.

It is God’s vision that NMCF is working on, that is reaching out to people for Jesus Christ. Additionally, the Fellowship prays for the survival of the nation Nigeria, so that it can progress. But the main objective is to get people into the Kingdom of God. If the NMCF will grow and become fruitful, its leaders must be seized by this vision: “Go ye…” and its members must passionately be committed to it as well.

How it all began
Every soldier, sailor, airman and member of the paramilitary should live to thank, praise and worship God Almighty, for His saving grace that He has extended to all mankind. We should be particularly grateful to God that He does not exclude anyone from coming to Him for salvation in Christ, including people in the military forces. Those in the military of all nations also have a place in the loving heart of our God in His salvation plan for mankind through His Son Jesus Christ.

Every organization of man has a beginning as every revolution has a beginning and a beginner. An organization or a revolution may grow and keep growing, involving many persons and spreading to many lands and countries, but there is usually a beginning and a beginner. The case of the NMCF is not an exception. When a great idea is planted in a diligent heart, it will grow into a large fruit-bearing tree, providing shelter and food for many of God’s creatures.

This was the scenario surrounding the establishment and activities of this Fellowship that has positively touched many lives within and outside the military of Nigeria. This historical book shall show that the founders of the NMCF laid the foundation on Christ the Solid Rock and abided in God’s truth. Thus, twenty-five years later, it has, beyond their wildest imagination, now spread and is now accepted by the armed forces and the paramilitary forces in Nigeria.

Background
The origin of the NMCF could be traced to the experiences Air Commodore Ishaku Komo (rtd) had in the United Kingdom in 1975, when he attended a military training course at the Royal Air Force (RAF). Komo, then a young officer of the Nigerian Air Force, came in contact with the Navigators, who discipled him. RAF Christian officers used to invite foreign students to their houses for fellowship. Later that year the young Nigerian officer was invited by a family of one of the RAF officers to spend the Christmas break with them. There he clearly saw the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as against just being religious. It was also at this time that the Nigerian officer knew about the Officers Christian Union (OCU) of Britain. Later in 1978, Komo returned to UK for another course where he consolidated his contact with the OCU. On his return to Nigeria, he was posted to NAF Station Makurdi.
 

The Early Beginning
There in Makurdi, Ishaku Komo then a flight lieutenant, started house fellowships, which held on Thursdays, nicknamed “Thursday Tea Bible Study (TTBS)”. At the fellowship, brethren would study the Bible and then share tea with some fruits in fellowship before dispersing. The meeting day later changed to Friday and it became “Friday Tea Bible Study (FTBS).” It was at that time that the idea of a national military Christian fellowship was conceived. Consequently, the NMCF started as a fellowship as being done at the Friday Tea Bible Study. It is important to state here that if one or two persons are praying together in a locality, already a unit of the fellowship could be established.

In 1980 while they were still having those fellowship meetings in Makurdi, the young officer and his wife were opportuned again, through the Officers Christian Union, to be invited for the International Fellowship of National Officers’ Christian Unions (IFNOCU) international conference in Swanick, near London, UK. A Nigerian Naval sub lieutenant, then on course in the UK, now Navy Captain Femi Olanipekun (Rtd) also joined in the Conference thereby increasing the number of Nigerian participants to 3. One of the main discussions during the Conference was centred on how to form a national Military Christian Fellowship. This further strengthened the idea the Nigerian participants had on establishing the NMCF.

Incidentally, the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) had also started having fellowships for the military in Nigeria. Hence in the early 1980s, after consultation with some members of the DCLM, the military brethren worked out how to start the NMCF. Wing Commander B Akinremi (Rtd), a dedicated Air Force officer, also then in Makurdi, acted as the Publicity Secretary. Colonel Henry Ladele (rtd), then a major, at the Nigerian Military School Zaria, also a DCLM member, acted as the Secretary. Other pioneer members were Air Vice Marshal GB Odesola (then a flight lieutenant), Group Captain Isaac Madaki (then a flying officer), Flight Sergeant Joshua Baba (Rtd), Sergeant Moses Ibilola (Rtd), Brother Matthew Eyiolorunpe, Mrs Sarah Komo, Mrs Ibilola and Sister Mary, to mention but a few.

There were some teething problems with respect to the DCLM and the military Chaplains, and later between the DCLM members and others of the NMCF steering committee. These problems related to efforts initiated to make the NMCF a part of the Deeper Life Bible Church. They were however eventually resolved amicably in Christian love. When Air Commodore Komo was later posted to Lagos, a similar fellowship was also started there. From these humble beginnings, a good number of military personnel and civilians who associated with the military were attracted to the vision. The Naval Christian Fellowship (NCF) was in existence before and merged to form the NMCF. This was a great sacrifice on their part.