By Olorunyomi Adebimpe Covenant
The first inter-departmental oratory contest, in the college of health sciences was held on the 22nd of July 2023. Students from the various departments within the faculty were represented by two participants each. These various departments include: Medicine, Nursing science, Medical Laboratory Science, Physiotherapy, Anatomy and physiology.
The event was held in the lecture hall A, at the college of health sciences popularly known as “New College.” The program kicked off at about 12:30pm, starting with a short introductory speech, the national anthem and the school’s anthem. The topics of the debate rounds were centered on the core theme of the event: “Healthcare in The 21st Century.”
The first verbal battle was between the department of physiotherapy and the Medical Laboratory Science, on the topic: “Abortion Should Be Legalized in Nigeria.” Team MLS emerged victorious in this round and was qualified for the next.
The next round was between the department of Anatomy and physiology on the topic: “Euthanasia should be legalized in Nigeria.” Anatomy emerged victorious and was qualified for the next.
The third and final round of the first stage was between the department of Medicine and Nursing sciences on the topic: “Nigerian Trained Medical and Dental Practitioners Should Be Mandated to Practice in Nigeria for a Minimum of 5 Years Before Being Granted Full License by MDCN.” The department of medicine emerged as the winners of this round, which marked the end of the first stage.
The second stage was an impromptu speech in which one representative from each of the winning teams were asked to randomly select undisclosed topics from a ballot, with 60 seconds preparatory time to deliver a speech for three minutes. Some of the topics include: malaria, plant’s lives matter too and perseverance.
Eventually, the final results were declared by the Chief Adjudicator of the event, Tobiloba Adebara. The department of Anatomy emerged as the overall winner, the first and second runner ups were the department of Medical Laboratory Science and the department of Medicine respectively.
The program ended with the presentation of awards, certificates of participation to all the speakers and refreshments to the audience. The event ended with the vote of thanks from the convener- Victor Oyesola a 200 level student from the department of medicine. He commended all the participants and shared his vision, which was to improve and encourage public speaking in the college of health sciences. It promises to be an annual event.