Ndubuisi Chibuzor Paul has emerged winner of the 2020 Jemila Abubakar Memorial Essay Competition organized by the Asido Foundation, in honour of their late member and mental health activist, Miss Jemila Abubakar.
Ndubuisi Chibuzor Paul, a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) received 100,000 Naira for his win.
Anthony Awi Temitayo Adeola, a Medicine and Surgery student at University of Lagos (UNILAG) emerged second place winner and received 70,000 Naira for her win.
Odigwe Chukky Bryan, a Medicine and Surgery student at University of Ibadan (UI) emerged third place winner and received 30,000 Naira for his win.
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 proffer sustainable solutions to these problems. The result was announced on January 19th.
According to Chibuzor on his victory:
“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.”
In addition, the top 15 contestants all received certificates of recognition, as well as books on mental health well-being written by the CEO of the foundation and renowned consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Jibril Abdulmalik.
