Following the concern of the Catholic Bishops conference of Nigeria (CBCN) that the Catholic Youths of Nigeria celebrate the International Youth Year (IYY) declared by the United Nations in 1985, several meetings of Chaplains responsible for youth affairs, and Youths leaders from the various dioceses of Nigeria were held to plan for a National Catholic Youth Rally. The first of these meetings was held at Awka in March, 1985 and presided over by the then outgoing Bishop Chairman of the Catholic Bishop’s Commission for the Laity, and Bishop of Akwa Rt Rev. Dr. A.k. Obiefuna. Subsequent meetings were presided over by his successor, the Bishop of Okigwe, Rt. Rev. Dr. Anthony Ilonu. This move coincided with an earlier demand for recognition and accreditation sent to the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria by a protem national executive of the Catholic Youths which was formed out of a national meeting held in Benin in December, 1983. The Benin meeting was a first move initiated by the youths, to nationally bring together the various parish based Catholic Youth movements existing in the dioceses. The Youth Movement had for long existed in the various parish and diocesan levels without national coordination and cohesion.

The request for recognition and accreditation was being considered by the Bishop Chairman of the CBCN Commission for the Laity when the issue of the IYY celebrations came up in 1985. The attendance at the 1985 meetings was much more broad. Thus to create a neutral ground for a fresh start, the forming national executive elected in Benin in 1983 was dissolved at one of the Chaplains/Youths meeting held at Akwa on 8th May, 1985. Under the guidance of His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Dr. A. Ilonu, a management committee of six youths (two each from three ecclesiastical provinces) was set up for a fresh start. Three Chaplains (one each from the three ecclesiastical provinces) were selected to guide the youths. Following the acceptance, during the meeting, by Ogoja Diocese to host the proposed national rally, the Ogoja Diocesan Youth Chaplin, and one Youth from his diocese were both co-opted on the committee. Their names are as follows: Fr. Michael Cunnane (Ogoja) Convener and chairman. Mr. Julius Achia (Ogoja). The provincial youth representatives are: Messers G. A. Loratim-Uba (Makudi). Patrick Uloneme (Sokoto), John Aichie (Benin), Patrick Edebor (Ondo), Samuel Okolocha (Akwa), Anthony Allagoa (Port Harcourt). The Chaplains are: Fr. Chris Utov (Makudi), Fr. Mike Okodua (Oyo) and Fr. Gregory Adibe (Onitsha).

The committee was subsequently charged with the following task:

• Preparing and presenting a draft constitution for ratification
• Planning and organizing the National catholic youth IYY Rally to take place at Ogoja from 28th August to 1st September, 1985.

The committee was successful in handling these tasks. The result was a massively attended catholic youth IYY Rally held at Ogoja during which the draft constitution of the CYON was passed, and national officers elected. The CYON was thus finally born and accredited by the CBCN at Ogoja in 1985.

The year 1985 therefore marked a profound development in the perspective of the church’s effort to reach out to her youths in a more concrete way. The church had always been accused of focusing more on the wisdom of elders and neglecting the enthusiasm, energies and potentials of the young. Of course the church had demonstrated concern for youths through her education effort in the establishment of schools and encouragement given to such school based bodies as the Young Catholic Students Movement (YCSM) and the Nigerian Federation Of Catholic Students (NFCS). This encouragement was however seen to be restricted to the sector with the parish, the basic forum of ecclesial and apostolic activity, receiving less attention in the Youth apostolate effort. Infact Devout Catholic Student on passing out of school could not find any youth forum to further their apostolic participation and Catholic Action. Realizing, as the Vatican Council States that; ‘The young should become the first apostles of the young, in direct contact with them, exercising the apostolate by themselves among themselves, taking account of their social environment; “they found it difficult to fit into most of the existing adult dominated parish organizations. Most began to claim they could get on very well on their own, and went to church only on Sundays. Some began to claim they knew all about the faith, had for long experienced it all and no longer believed in it. The situation has been stated by Fr. Kaigama:

“On the socio-religious level, young people cannot easily find their role within the church especially within the present parish structures. They do not feel involved because in the parish almost everything is done by and for adults. There is hardly any option for the young, and if there is, it comes last which means that it is not a priority”.

On passing out from school therefore, the young could not feel the addressed within the context of his experiences. Many even got inclined or tempted to reject God, or lost a meaning in life or began seeking new models in pseudo – charismatic movements, or began drifting to mushroom churches, or engaged in drugs and other ills.

Another factor, very much related to the factor of over concentration to the school based youth apostolate at the detriment of the parish based, that led many to form the opinion that the church had neglected the youths was the takeover of church schools. It seemed as though the church had been incapacitated in that respect and with less attention previously focused on the parish youth apostolate, the opinion of church neglect of youths apparently received an overwhelming confirmation.

The takeover of church schools by the government, a deliberate policy hatched at a World Islamic Festival held in the early 70s, aimed at dubiously destroying Christianity, and perpetrated in Nigeria in the disguise of improving the quality of education by some Moslems in the influential government positions, was a ploy that severe the communication link between the church and her young. This ploy swept through the nation like typhoid fever in the mid-70s and was pursued with extra vigor in the northern part of the nation. Most youths in schools could therefore not be reach and those already out of school were being negatively influenced by the forces of modernization, the machinations of dechristianization, and simply did not see devotion to their faith as fashionable. Meanwhile the youths had no organization in the parish to, so to say, own, hold to, or youthfully identify to.