Mong Victor, a 500-level medical student, and Habeeb Abdul, Faculty of Law graduate and erstwhile Captain of the University of Ibadan British Parliamentary Society, have emerged as the winner and joint second runner-up, respectively, at the finals of the Inspire Africa Orators Program Season 3, which took place on Tuesday, 4th March 2025, at the Dinovate Studios, Jabi, Abuja.
The competition, touted as Nigeria’s premier public speaking competition, featured over 100 participants aged 18-25 from across Nigeria. Mong and Habeeb, emerged champions, having scaled through four stages of the contest, to walk home with cash prizes of 1 Million Naira and 250,000 Naira, respectively.
Other winners were Terver Markudi (Benue State University) and Oluwasemiye Owolabi (Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho) as joint first runners-up, and Daniel Akinwola (Federal University of Technology, Akure) who was joint second runner-up.
Speaking with the Press, Mong expressed his delight at the win. “At the finals, we had students From Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo in Ebonyi State (AE-FUNAI), LAUTECH, LASU, UNN, Benue State University, Dave Umahi University, FUTA, UNIBEN, ABSU, and UI. We had immersive training sessions at the Bootcamp from accomplished Toastmasters, including Dr. Benjamin Wayo the 2021 World Champion, Speaker Slam, the West & Central African Champion of Public Speaking (2019, 2020 & 2024), and Finalist World Champion of Public Speaking. The training sessions were detailed and succinct, and we spoke either in debating or an oratory speech after each training session. We also got to work in teams for the debating and it was a lot of fun. We were hosted in Abuja, expenses paid, and it was an amazing opportunity to network and make friends with other speakers from across Nigeria”.
The Orators Program is an intensive, in-depth public speaking competition. The program conducts a thorough examination of oratory and leadership skills, which begins online, before the on-site program. This edition featured four stages; Virtual Audition and Quarterfinals – Tuesday 19th, – Saturday, 23rd November, 2024; Virtual Bootcamp and Semi Final rounds: 25th, 27th, 29th of January, and 1st, 3rd, 5th, & 7th of February, 2025; Finals – Monday, 3rd March – Tuesday, 4th March, 2025.
