Ugochukwu Chineke, a fifth-year Law student at the University of Ibadan, has won the seventh Edition of the Superbowl Oratory Contest, which took place on Friday, 20th December 2024 at the Dame Okowa Hall, Alumni Centre, University of Ibadan.
Ugochukwu claimed the top spot with 68.1% ahead of Nwachukwu Jacintha from Dominican University, 66.9%, and Kolade Daniella from the Abiola Ajimobi Technical University, with 63.2% who were first runner-up and second runner-up respectively.
The competition, which was recently revived following a hiatus in 2019, was themed “This is Nigeria”, and featured 14 institutions all from Oyo State, including the Polytechnic Ibadan, Federal College of Forestry, Atiba University, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Leed City University, Abiola Ajimobi Technical University, Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ajayi Crowther University, Dominican University, Federal Co-Operative College, Federal School of Surveying, and Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology.
Following the introductions, the Literary and Debating Society UI Staff Adviser, Dr. Demola Lewis rolled out the scoring modalities for the contest. The competition featured three phases. In the first phase, contestants spoke on the theme of the event; “This is Nigeria!” The second phase involved the contestants speaking on figurative illustrations projected on happenings, key figures, institutions and history of Nigeria. The third phase of the competition, which was an impromptu speech, centered on the heroes of Nigeria, where each contestant got to deliver speeches on their chosen heroes of their choice.
During one of the interludes in the competition, the keynote speaker of the event, Fisayo Soyombo, founder of Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) delivered his address. He highlighted the s decadence across the various institutions and agencies of the government, and ended his speech by saying “This Nigeria, our only country, is worth living for. The problems of the country can not be solved until we understand the depths of these problems.”
After the collations from the judges, Nwachukwu Jacinta from the Dominican University was announced as the Best Female Speaker while Ugochukwu Chineke from the University of Ibadan was announced as the Best Male Speaker. Cash prizes of 200,000 Naira, 150,000 Naira, and 100,000 Naira, respectively were awarded to the Winner, First Runner-Up, and Second Runner-Up.
Speaking with the Press,Chineke Ugochukweu, expressed how he felt winning the first prize saying; “I feel very accomplished because the is my second time at the SuperBowl as I contested my first in 2019 while I was still a freshman. Now that I am Finalist about to leave the University, and finally won the competition, I feel very accomplished and happy at the same time. Thank you.”
For Miss. Jacinta, the second prize winner, “I feel very happy and grateful to God, as it was not expected, considering the strong display from all contestants, and I realized I had to put in my best efforts. I remembered my dad encouraging me to be me and do waht I know how to do best, and I am so happy I could make my Dad proud. And of course for my forthcoming birthday, it is a perfect gift..”
Second runner-up, Miss Daniella said; “I feel very elated, because everyone I competed with are very qualified, and so I feel honoured. I happy the hardwork I put in during the process paid off.”
The Superbowl, convened by Dr. Bisi Olawuyi is an annual public speaking contest, aimed to nurture aspiring Public Speakers into realizing their full potentials and honing their skills. Since its inception in 2007, the initiative has produced top speaking experts, Mr. Goodness Kolawole, one of the judges as one of the numerous examples.
Moshood Sidiq
