Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School Agege, Lagos, has won the Senior Secondary School’s ultimate public speaking contest.
The contest, titled, ‘The Eloquence Cup,’ was designated overall trophy prize for oratory amongst secondary schools.
The competition, which featured two speakers from each of the following nine government-owned secondary schools, CMS Grammar School, Queens College, Kings College, Girls Senior Secondary School, Ikoyi, Falomo Senior High School, Ireti Senior Grammar School Ikoyi, Kuramo Senior College, Victoria Island, Victoria Island Senior Secondary School, and Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, Agege, was organised by the School of Eloquence in Lagos recently.
A press statement released by the registrar, Patience Essien, said Dairy Farm displaced CMS Grammar School, Bariga.
The speakers spoke on the theme, ‘Drug Abuse and its Impact on the Youths.’
In the individual prize category, the students from three of the nine participating schools – Jasmine Chris of Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, Leopold Favour of CMS Grammar School, and Oke Abdulrahman of Kings College Lagos clinched first, second, and third prizes with cash rewards of N150,000; N100,000 and N75,000 respectively.
West Africa’s Only Certified Speaking Professional, and convener of the Eloquence Cup, Ubong Essien, in his opening address, stated that the School of Eloquence was marking its 17th anniversary with the fifth edition of the Eloquence Cup as a tribute to the power and importance of public speaking in the development of any nation.
He added that the school remained committed to mainstreaming the learning of practical speaking skills amongst business and political leaders, royalty and celebrities, workplace professionals, and entrepreneurs.
He revealed that it unveiled the Catching Them Young initiative in 2015 as its corporate social responsibility programme targeted at public senior secondary schools.
The special guests included a Member of the Board of the School of Eloquence, Mr Oluseyi Sowemimo, SAN; MD/ CEO of H & Y Furniture, Mrs Feyisola Abiru; and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Debt Management Office, Mrs Alake Sanusi.
