The 5th annual General assembly of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, Nigeria Delegation took place between December 3 – 9, 20018. The Assembly reflected on a theme: The 20th Anniversary of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Nigeria: The Way Forward. The assembly started with the arrival of confreres to the Lanteri House at Kwamba, Suleja, Nigeria. There were lots of excitements from the confreres coming together from the different regions of the country. The opening Mass was presided over by the Delegate Superior, Very Fr Paul Ubebe, OMV while  Rev. Fr Daniel Onyeayana, CMF, the guest speaker for the assembly gave the homily. In his homily, Fr Daniel encouraged the members of the delegation to embrace teamwork and to cooperate in the activities of the assembly. He recognized the fact that the right time was chosen to have the assembly, especially this advent season and much more as we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Reflecting on the first reading (Isaiah 11:1-10) of the day, he said that if a shoot is not given, the tree will die. With that in mind, he asked: what kind of shoot have we given to our congregation? Are we on the right track? Can we make amend? Can we say that we have raised men filled with the Spirit or the fear of the Lord? Are we men of wisdom and knowledge, etc? Looking at the future with hope, with great expectations, can we say we are on the track of raising men in the future with the various gifts of the spirit as seen in the first reading?

The conference sessions began with the opening prayer by Rev. Fr Efeturi Ojakaminor, OMV and the welcoming of all the confreres and the Guest Speaker, Rev. Fr Daniel Onyeayana, CMF, was done by the Delegate Superior.

During the conference, Fr Daniel recalled the statement of St (Pope) John Paul ll, when he visited Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, Nigeria, in the year, 1982. Fr Daniel observed that the Pope began his statement by addressing everyone as fellow Christians and not with ‘worldly’ titles. So too with us as Fr Daniel postulated that, as we gather to reflect on our lives as Oblates, we should refer to ourselves as brothers. He stated that our Constitutions and Norms actually define who we are, because our identity is rooted in our Constitutions. He suggested that this year (2018) assembly should be more practical and that we should be truthful and open to ourselves in addressing issues.

In all these, our identity should be more emphasized.  Quoting Art 11 of our Constitutions, which speaks on fraternal communion, Fr Daniel emphasized on the importance of togetherness among confreres. He opined that, at 20, though still young, we must know where we are heading to, that, all our thinking should be primarily on how we could support and promote the project of the Congregation and not how our bank accounts should be growing fat. We challenged us to support our superiors in promoting the fruits of the assembly.

Fr Daniel did not round up his address without further challenging us to wake up to our responsibilities as Oblates in Nigeria. He said that at 20, it is the responsibility of all oblates to contribute to the general purse and everyone must have a will of contributing. In other words, we must have a templates in which everyone contribute his own quota to the general purse financially because wherever we are today, or any opportunity we have gotten today as Oblate, is gotten through the congregation. He made us to understand that the act of giving to the common purse is a sacred act. He cited the Acts of the Apostles that due to the contributions to the common purse none of them was in lack or in want.

However, at the course of our deliberations during the assembly, the need for building the seminary came up and confreres donated over 700 bags of cements.

During the assembly, the recorded video presentation of the Rector Major was played to the viewing and hearing of all. After that, various departments and commissions presented their reports, from which questions were asked and answered; clarifications were equally made as the morning session.

During the assembly, the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria (CYON) of St Anthony's Catholic Church, Asipa sent in a proposal for the formation of the Association of the OMV Youth in our various places of Apostolates. Following what was agreed upon an ad hoc committee was set up to look into it, thereafter send their recommendations to the Delegation Council. Frs Cosmas Amede, OMV as the Chairman, Jeremiah Iraboh, OMV and Aniebiet Inyang, OMV as members while Fr John Idio, OMV was asked to serve as an adviser to the committee. 

The assembly did not come to an end without the wonderful advice from our elder brother, Fr Efeturi Ojakaminor, OMV who reminded us of who we are in the Religious life, that our “Rectorship” or position in leadership is not by the level of seniority but a call to service. Fr Efeturi opined that each and every one of us should be preoccupied with the good of the congregation. He further said that our personal interest should be placed secondary while the interest of the congregation is primary. He advised us to place our charism first. Fr Efeturi was optimistic of our growth, he said that, to achieve it, we just have to put the congregation first and move forward.

There was equally budget defence during the assembly, whereby various commissions and departments defended their budgets before the Delegate and his council, which will be approved later for the financial year of 2019.

Before rounding up the assembly, a moment was created for a fundraising dinner toward the building of our seminary. The 2018 General Assembly came to an end with the presentation of the Resolutions as the official document from the Assembly. The Resolutions from the Assembly were entrusted to our Lady, the Queen of the Holy Rosary. The Nigeria Delegation is thankful to the Rector Major, his Council and the entire Congregation for the support she has been receiving from them thus far.