The final round of the Asido Inter-Hall Oratory contest themed: “Matters that matter: Sincerely Speaking, Suicide” held on the 30th September, 2023 at Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan. The preliminary stage, which had held two weeks prior on 18th September 2023, saw Alexander Brown Hall, alongside four other Halls qualifying for the final stage of the competition.
The event was opened with a speech from the Chairman of the event, Dr. Demola Lewis. The five Halls that had qualified for this round included Kenneth Mellanby Hall, Independence Hall, Obafemi Awolowo Hall, Sultan Bello Hall, and Alexander Brown Hall, and their respective speakers mounted the podium in that order to give their speeches.
Participants were judged based on their dressing, speech delivery, diction, content and structure of speech. After the representatives for the various Halls present had delivered their speeches, the judges made their comments. While the speakers were commended for having good structures and deliveries, a few corrections were also made, such as pointing out the change of previously used terminologies to more acceptable ones, like “completed suicide” in place of “committed suicide”.
Before the winners were announced, the audience was treated to a play which lasted for over an hour. The play featured singing, dancing and the dramatization of a spectrum of common mental illnesses including Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD), and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). The stage play directed by Waheed Ishola of Ọ̀rọ̀labí Productions, entertainingly passed home the message of how those living with mental iillnesses can find a safe space to heal better with the right help and support from those around them.
The event also featured a panel session where questions relating to mental health and mental illnesses were laid bare. Practical steps in sourcing for aid and proffering help to those in need of it got expounded on during the session.
At the end of the ceremony, the winners of the oratory contest were announced by Dr. Titus Adekunle. The third position went to Kenneth Mellanby Hall, second place to Obafemi Awolowo Hall, and Alexander Brown Hall came out on top, clinching first position at the event. Gifts and certificates were awarded to all participating speakers from both stages of the competition.
Alexander Brown Hall walked away with a cash prize of Fifty Thousand Naira, a plaque of recognition, and as though the organizers were aware of the current blackout – a much-needed Itel power bank. This win certainly adds yet another feather to the cap of the Alexander Brown Hall Literary and Debating Society. With the current crop of public speakers in the Hall, it might not be overly optimistic to expect many more wins in the future.
