Ndubuisi Chibuzor, a serial award-winning essayist has once again made UNN proud by his latest feat. He emerged victorious in the just concluded Jemila Abubakar Memorial Essay Competition which was organized by the Asido Foundation, in honour of their late member and mental health activist, Miss Jemila Abubakar.
The contest, which was on the topic “Stigma, Mental Health Literacy, and the Nigerian Youth,” challenged Nigerian undergraduates to discuss how deep-seated the problems of mental health illiteracy and discrimination in Nigeria are, and asked them to profer sustainable solutions to these problems. The result was announced on January 19th.
When asked to comment on his victory, Chibuzor, who clinched the first prize alongside miss Temitayo of UNILAG and Mr. Bryan of the University of Ibadan occupying the second and third prize respectively, had this to say:
“For me, the Jemila Abubakar Memorial Essay Competition was more of a catharsis than a contest. I had just fought my way out of a mental illness, one that almost turned me into something else. Unsurprisingly, then, I had a lot to say–about the mentally ill, the illiterate, the mental illness itself, and the structures for combating this mental illness. All these elements exist in a system, and that system is crying to be optimized. And so, by giving me a platform to contribute to this optimization and an avenue to pour out my heart, the Asido Foundation did more for me than they can imagine. I’m grateful.”
UNEG remains ever proud of her own!
You can read the winning essay below:
