BSN Sets Agenda for National Rebirth at NYSC Essay Contest
…proffers practical solutions to national problems
Sauntering with shimmering poise unto the dais, 24-year-old Miss Kogi Myriah Prudence exuded unimpeachable confidence to clinch the star prize of the 11th Edition of the BSN’s Annual NYSC Essay Competition, a competition many people now regard as the primus inter pares in the 44-year history of the scheme. The 2022 graduate of Biochemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, held the audience spellbound from start to finish with an air of class, finesse, and panache while cascading, like an avalanche, her well-thought-out and credible solutions to the country’s sundry problems.
Miss Kogi Myriah’s essay was among the 6 finalists shortlisted out of the 171 entries received from across the nation. The finalists had converged in Lagos to defend their theses at the grand finale of the competition themed “Reengineering the Nigerian System for Sustainable Development.” Quoting the words of the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama, “Passion is vital, but we must have a strategy,” Miss Mryiah reeled out her proffered strategic actions for a beleaguered Nigerian nation viz., strengthening the family system, youth empowerment, the contribution of the church to national development, and the mentorship of the younger generation by the older.
Citing copious research results and biblical references to reinforce her argument, the amazing amazon made it crystal clear that the youths, once considered the leaders of tomorrow, were now the leaders of today! She argued that modernity had equipped the youths with all it takes to provide quality leadership to the nation.
Elaborating further, the Kaduna-born scientist, who is currently serving in Bauchi State, stated that the family is key to achieving six out of the seventeen United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 which are health, gender equality, youth unemployment, poverty, education, and violence. She charged the youths to wake up to their responsibilities as the true engine of societal growth and development, working in tandem with the older generation as expressed in the theme of this year’s International Youth Day tagged “Intergenerational Solidarity.” The Church, according to Miss Mryiah, must go back to its development strides in proffering quality education just as the missionaries once did and work to end violence in their societies.
She concluded her thesis by calling for a culture of mentorship, whereby the older ones can carry the younger ones along. Kogi’s essay, which was widely lauded and considered highly inspiring and thought-provoking won the star prize of the competition – a brand new laptop, Bible, and books.