A first-year student of the University of Ghana Law School, Mr Victor Nsoh Azure, has made Ghana proud by winning the 2017 African Youth Leadership Essay Competition.
The competition was organised to provide the youth of Africa the opportunity to contribute to important discussions about leadership.
Organised by the Uongozi Institutue based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the contest also meant to build the competence level of the youth in Africa to be able to take challenging positions when given the opportunity.
The awards ceremony also coincided with this year’s African Leadership Forum.
Awardees
Mr Azure took home $2,000 and a certificate as his prize.
The other award winners were Sheena Milapo from Zambia; Armani Shayo, Tanzania; Khotso Mokoena, Zimbabwe and Natalya Apopo from Kenya.
They took home $1500, $1000, $700 and $400 respectively and a certificate each.
The contest was opened to all African citizens between the ages of 18 and 25.
Essay topic
This year, organisers of the programme received over 3,000 essays from various African countries which were thoroughly evaluated using criteria such as originality, creativity, critical thinking and structure or organisation of the essay.
Contestants were expected to write an essay with the title “If you were a leader, what would you do to ensure that peace and security is achieved and sustained in Africa?”
Present at the colourful event were the former President of Tanzania, Mr Jakaya Kikwete; former President of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki; former President of Malawi, Mr Bakili Muluzi; former President of Tunisia, Mr Mohamed Moncef Marzouk; former President of Somalia, Mr Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud and the Deputy Minister in charge of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia, Mr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Joy
Mr Azure expressed joy and appreciation to the organisers of the contest, saying the exercise would enhance the level of contributions of the African youth to the growth and development of the continent.
Mr Azure was a former student of the Navrongo Senior High School in the Upper East Region and is inspired by the lives of Martin Luther King Jnr., Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama.
Writer’s email: [email protected]