How I won NYSC Essay Writing Contest – Stephen Angbulu

Bookshelf: You recently won the 5th edition of NYSC Bible Society of Nigeria Annual Essay Writing Competition. How do you feel? Stephen Angbulu: Honestly, I feel honoured and very excited. It was a memorable moment when the panellists announced me as winner for this year’s edition of the essay contest. More importantly, I felt encouraged. […]

Bookshelf: You recently won the 5th edition of NYSC Bible Society of Nigeria Annual Essay Writing Competition. How do you feel?
Stephen Angbulu: Honestly, I feel honoured and very excited. It was a memorable moment when the panellists announced me as winner for this year’s edition of the essay contest. More importantly, I felt encouraged. Encouraged to voice out my opinions about the realities I see around me every day as a young Nigerian, knowing that platforms like this will always be there to make our voices heard. And I remain grateful to the Bible Society of Nigeria for creating such a platform.

Bookshelf: What first came to your mind when you learnt about the contest?
Angbulu: Well, I got to know about it quite late, about two weeks to the deadline. But then I considered the topic as something worth writing about. It was timely, and it addressed the current realities we face as a nation, especially when our current president is one returning to power after three decades. And now our political scene is filled with people in their 80s and 90s. That for me was the spark I needed to write.  

Bookshelf: Did you think you will win?
Angbulu: I wanted to, hoped to and was willing to give it my best. But my first motivation was just to voice out my perspective on the issue. It was more like nursing an idea for long and finally getting the opportunity to execute it. Long story short, I wrote to win.

Bookshelf: The topic for this year is quite intriguing and timely. It was ‘Recycling Leadership: An Antithetical Approach to Youth development and Nigeria’s Future’. How did you approach it?
Angbulu: The current trend in the Nigerian polity was a good perspective to write from. Even though recycling leadership has been a trend in our corporate circles, the effect is more when it happens on the higher echelons of leadership. The dangerous thing about recycling leadership is not just in the recurrence of the same old faces in government, but the recurrence of the same old ideas, same old patterns that may not be applicable today. However modernised an old leader wants to be, I just believe that new responsibilities and challenges, especially in the 21st Century, are better handled by people with fresh approaches, new ideas and new techniques. In my essay, I wrote that when opportunities for leadership circulates around a particular age group or class, the resultant effect is that the younger generation are denied the opportunity to bring what they have to the table of national development. This is true, especially when we consider the fact that the strength of any system, be it political or socio-economic, lies intrinsically in its leadership.

Bookshelf: As one of the guidelines for the contest, your essay was to be original and empirical. You were also told to use Biblical, as well as intellectual approaches. How did you go about achieving these?
Angbulu: A lot of research went into it where I consulted various written materials. Even though references were made, the originality of the essay stems from the perspective I chose to view it from. In other words, a key factor in youth development is the creation of opportunities for youths to engage in governance and participate in the political and decision-making processes of their countries.
I believe the Bible to be complete and capable of addressing even the current issues of today. It may have been written a long time ago, but its principles are timeless. This is true when we consider exceptional young leaders in the Bible like Joseph, Joshua, David, Josiah, Timothy and so on. God obviously understands the importance of successive leadership when he commanded Elijah at the end of his earthly ministry, to appoint Kings over Syria and Israel, and a prophet to succeed him. We can draw a lot from these examples.

Bookshelf: Your place of primary assignment as a Corps member is Government Science Technical College, Kumo, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State. Do any of the experiences you have serving influence your essay?
Angbulu: It did, a lot. I have seen what outdated ideas and leadership approach can do to an institution regardless of its glorified past. As John C. Maxwell wrote; ‘everything rises and falls on leadership.’ What I saw when I walked into those classrooms were a direct reflection of what we are going through as a nation.

Bookshelf: Your essay provides evidence that Nigeria is one of the few countries with the highest number of reappearance of past leaders and exchange of power within the same age group and class. Do you see Nigeria departing from this trend any time soon?
Angbulu: Well, yes, if we choose to adopt the needed change paradigm, and no, if we are comfortable with the status quo. But more than ever, I see youths waking up to their place of responsibility. The next revolution will not be done with placards and yelling, but with ideas and ideals that have proved effective through time. The adoption of values like integrity and a genuine drive to effect change will definitely cause a positive ripple effect.

Bookshelf: You listed unemployment, youth and public violence, corruption, youth marginalisation, among others, as challenges of youth development in Nigeria. In what ways do you think the youth can prepare to take important and meaningful roles of leadership in Nigeria?
Angbulu: You said it right; preparation. In the speech I delivered at the national symposium, I said, youths must take intentional steps to build personal character, intelligence and virtues that match the recognition we want. Exceptional leaders don’t emerge by accident. They are made through seasons of preparation and embracing the right paradigms that first brings about internal transformation, which then translates to societal change. Leaders will exhibit their personal values when they take on responsibilities, so our value systems must be checked and if need be, altered. That’s where preparation starts.

Bookshelf: You quoted a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, as saying youth constitute Nigeria’s only hope for a real future. How strongly do you believe in this ideology or was it simply about winning a debate for you?
Angbulu: First, the youths have demographic dominance, over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population. Youths are the life force of our system and no matter how many economic policies are passed in our chambers, they need hands to be executed. I strongly believe in those lines: Youths are the foundation of a society. Their energies, inventiveness, character and orientation define the pace of development and security of a nation. Through their creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant strides in economic development and socio-political attainments. In their dreams and hopes, a nation founds her motivation; on their energies, she builds her vitality and purpose. And because of their dreams and aspirations, the future of a nation is assured.

Bookshelf: How did you start writing, generally?
Angbulu: Well, I started writing since I was in primary school. They were mostly stories on the animal kingdom and all of that, based on the kind of books available to me then. But besides that, I’ve kept a journal for over seven years now and that has really influenced how I write today. I write more of short stories, precisely Bible fiction where I put myself in biblical stories and tell it as though I was there at the time it all happened. This led me to write ‘Guilty Innocence; the unfolding’, ‘the Acts of the Lepers’, and so on.

Bookshelf: What are you working on at the moment?
Angbulu: I’m working on a collection of about fifteen short stories and hope to get it published at the end of my service year.