The morning after the death of his dad, a 200 level student of the Department of English, University of Ibadan, Jesse Nwode, put aside the pain of the loss, put up a superlative performance and emerged winner of the sixth edition of the university’s public speaking contest tagged ‘Super Bowl’.
In a six-hour long event, Nwode defeated nine other finalists after an impromptu round and two rounds of prepared speeches on the reconstruction of Nigeria and how the University of Ibadan could be a template for a functional society.
The audience was stunned when just after Nwode was announced winner, the organizer of the event, Dr Bisi Olawuyi, announced that Nwode had lost his dad the previous night.
Speaking after being crowned winner, a tearful Nwode dedicated the award to his late dad, adding that he had gone through several trying times which included being kidnapped and held hostage for three days at the age 15.
Known to speak with boldness, intelligence and accuracy, Nwode’s first speaking contest was at age nine where he came third in the Lagos inter-school oratory contest. He also won the ‘Super Bowl’ award for best male performance.
Other winners were David Olanema who was first runner-up and wits master. Bolaji Olayide emerged second runner-up. Ifeoluwa Igili was the best in the Impromptu category. James Oluwatamilore won as the best female performer and Bolaji Olayide won as the best rookie performer.
In his remarks, the winner of the second edition of Superbowl, Mr Faith Abiodun, urged the speakers to be committed to implementing the ideas they had spoken about and be involved in societal development.
The brains behind the Super Bowl contest, Olawuyi, explained that the contest provides a platform for young people to address salient national issues and enable them to be connected with the Nigerian reality.
He chided notions that young people were too busy with unprofitable ventures, arguing that the youths, if engaged, have a lot more to offer for the development of the nation than imagined.
“We should not lose hope on this country. These young guys still have a semblance of hope for this country. There is the need for people to begin to take young people very seriously because there is the notion that they are too playful and disconnected from the Nigerian reality. But, given my interaction with people, I know that they have more to offer than people can imagine,” Olawuyi said.