By: Olutayo Samson
JCIN UI prides itself in grooming confident young leaders, and the show of skill and Intellect didn’t fail in the annual Ibrahim Hammed Oratory Contest (IHOC) held on Saturday, the 6th of September 2025. This year’s contest was themed “Balancing Progress and Humanity; Ethics, Economy and Well-being in a Changing World”. The event featured an inter family Oratory and Debate Competition, as well as an inter-Local Organisation debate. The Honoree of the event was no other than the esteemed Ibrahim Hammed, who joined the event virtually. JCIN UI was also honoured to host various dignitaries at the event, among which were Dr and Mrs Souleyman, Mr Abdulbasit, Ahmed, JCIN Ambassador Juliet Akinkumi representative JCI senator Babatunde Denton, Mr AbdulSamad Akinwande. JCIN UI was also honoured to host presidents from other Local organizations.
The event started with an address from Taiwo Olanlesi Odusote (JCIN UI Local Organization), after which the Honoree of the event also gave a keynote speech. Then came the battle everyone had been waiting for. It began with the Oratory Contest. Representatives from all the eight families presented on two Oratory topics in a brilliant show of creativity, intellect and oratory prowess, after the families battled once again, but this time in the debate contest, presenting logical arguments and refutations in beautiful deliveries and structures. The skilled judges for the event were Akande Omobobola James, the erstwhile president of the Faculty of Social sciences L and D and Lord Tedder Hall L and D, Olatunji Vincent, and Eriomala John.
After the inter-family contests, the representatives from other local organizations also battled in a debate contest, showcasing the different flavours and public speaking styles of each of the LO universities The contest had representatives of JCIN Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), JCIN University of Lagos (Unilag), JCIN The Polytechnic Ibadan (TPI) and JCIN Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Lautech). The applause was unending, each beautiful speech after the other creating a new world of possibilities and growth.
Speeches were not the only activity of the day however. Members got the opportunity to connect with one another, as the lively host, Damilola David (2025 Director for training and individual opportunities) introduced giveaway prizes and games which kept the audience lively and attentive.
Then came the results of the epic battles. Two families emerged as the top in the Oratory category, Olawale Wahab and Seun Omotayi. . In the debate category, the top three families were Lanre Bello, Smith Waheed, and Taiwo Ande, with Lanre Bello coming out as the winner of the debate contest and the overall winner of the Ibrahim Hammed inter-family contest, going home with the trophy. The winning family went home with a cash prize of sixty thousand naira, while the first and second runner up went home with thirty thousand and fifteen thousand naira respectively.
In the inter-Local Organization category, the top two LO’s were JCIN OAU and JCIN, with JCIN OAU taking the trophy home and a cash prize of fifty thousand naira only. JCIN Unilag came second, with a cash prize of twenty-five thousand naira, with JCIN Lautech went home as the third, with a cash prize of ten thousand naira.
After the results had been announced, the awards were presented to the winning representatives, and the esteemed guests of the high table. The event ended with the Vote of Thanks given by the Executive President Internal, Susan Olalusi and the President, Taiwo Odusote. It was clear to see that the 2025 Ibrahim Hammed Contest was truly a remarkable event, and there is no doubt that the committee and The LO successfully executed the IHOC amazingly.
Some of the pictures of the day:
