The Lagos State Youth Ambassadors, led by Ambassador Aderounmu Zainab, held the Grand Finale of the Public Speaking Competition tagged Ibile Word Battle on 12th May, 2023 at Ikeja Youth Center, Ikeja.

The Public Speaking Competition for secondary school students in Lagos featured three stages, with the first stage being an essay entry stage where the team received over 100 essays from across the five administrative divisions (IBILE) in Lagos. Twenty-five best essays were shortlisted to advance to the second stage which was a public speaking training cum competition.

The second stage took place on Thursday 29th of April 2023, and the training was administered by Anybody Can Speak Academy, the official training partner for the project. From this stage, 10 best speakers were shortlisted to move to the final stage which was themed ‘Society and the Young Smoker: solutions to drug abuse among students in Lagos.
Beyond the competition, students had the opportunity to listen to a transformational speech by a drug abuse coach, Baiye Adebowale. It was attended by Secondary school students from over 50 schools from the six education districts across the five divisions in Lagos.

The team also partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Education, and principal officers from the education districts were in attendance.

The winners of the competition include: Aiyemobola Ayomide Paul of Yiseyon College (Badagry Division) in 1st position, Ayetowo Rachael Seyide of Yiseyon College (Badagry Division) in second place and Elemoro Anort of Epe Girl’s Secondary School (Epe Division).

The winners went home with awards of excellence, cash prizes: 30,000 naira, 20,000 naira and 10,000 naira respectively, as well as books on leadership: “From Storeroom to Boardroom by Dr. Babs Omotowa PresidentNigerian University of Technology and Management, Aspects of Language and Communication by Dr. Ganiu Bamgbose, Lecturer of English at Lagos State University, and Plan Z by Al Ameen Abolare.

All other participants were also rewarded with certificates and books mentioned above.

With this project, The Lagos State Youth Ambassador aimed at building young voices who would speak against vices like drug abuse among students.