CMS Grammar School, Lagos has emerged winner of the Senior Secondary Schools, Ultimate Public Speaking Face-Off tagged the ’Eloquence Cup’ displacing defending champions, Queens College organised by the School of Eloquence in Lagos at the weekend.
Speaking on the theme “The Nigerian Youth and Japa Syndrome; Which Way Forward”, students from six secondary schools debated on mass emigration that has resulted in many persons of productive age leaving the country.
Students from three participating schools – Leopold Favour; CMS Grammar School; Abiola Oyindamola; Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School and Precious Oyinlola of Queens College Lagos clinched first, second and third prizes with cash rewards of N100,000; N75,000 and N50,000 respectively.
A certified speaking professional and founder of the school, Ubong Essien, described teachers as heroes of the outstanding performances of their students in a competition aimed at identifying and sharpening their speaking potentials earlier in life
“While I commend the students for their brilliant performances, we want to specially applaud their teachers for helping to discover them early and nurturing them further. The students have shown a vast understanding of the issue discussed with research based figures and statistically defending their positions on the subject matter. They have also proven ,through the debates, to be very abreast with current affairs. These were fallouts of teachers’ effort in unearthing their speaking potentials required for day to day engagements at school, in the society and in their future endeavours.
“This event which is an annual iconic oratory competition between senior secondary schools in Lagos, is in it’s fourth edition. We aim to nurture the culture of effective spoken communication at the secondary school level and create spaces for additional prizes for schools that would emerge second and third positions in future,” Ubong, who is also the convener of the Eloquence Cup, said.
The Director General, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event, lauded the initiative and described effective communication as a major step in addressing the challenges of life.
Represented by Isichei Osamgbi, NIMASA Director of Special Duties, Jamoh commended the School of Eloquence for it’s catch them young initiative saying the initiative is a trail blazer.
Other participating schools in this year’s competition are St. Gregory College, Kings College and State Senior High School.
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