By: John Eriomala

The Asido Campus Network held the first leg of its Inter-Hall Oratory Contest on Saturday, the 16th of September, 2023, at the Social Sciences Lecture Theatre. 

The contest, which was tagged “Matters That Matter: Sincerely Speaking”, featured speakers from eight of the ten undergraduate Halls of Residence, with the exception of Queen Elizabeth II Hall and Queen Idia Hall who were a no-show. Each speaker delivered a five-minute Oratory speech; with topics encompassing the subject of suicide and mental health.  

At the end of the contest, Nnamdi Azikwe Hall (73%) defeated Sultan Bello Hall (71%), Alexander Brown Hall (83.67%) defeated Kenneth Mellanby Hall (81.67%), and Obafemi Awolowo Hall (87%) defeated Ransome Kuti Hall (61.17%) in a knockout format that saw The Great Independence Hall (79.67%) and Lord Tedder Hall (59%) gain automatic qualification. Adewunmi Obisesan of Obafemi Awolowo Hall was announced as the best speaker. 

In the course of the event, the founder of Asido Campus Network, Dr. Jibril Abdulmalik spoke briefly; commending the speakers for their enlightening speeches and encouraging attendees to take up the responsibility of spreading insightful knowledge on suicide and other mental health matters. 

Speaking with IndyPress. Owoeye Williams, a member of Asido Campus Network and one of the organisers of the event, emphasised the importance of conversations surrounding mental health. He went further to say, “I believe that having discussions about suicide prevention is something that should be common place and should not be relegated to lecture rooms or doctors offices. Making it commonplace and in conversations brings us closer to the realities of mental health and suicide. And through those conversations, we’ll be able to forge ways forward and remove the stigma surrounding suicide”. 

The final stage of the competition will be taking place on the 30th of September, 2023. The winners of this stage would be walking away with cash prizes totalling 100,000 Naira.