Mafeng High School has emerged winner of the 2026 Stephen Dangana Leadership Prize after its students impressed judges with a technology project designed to support agricultural activities in Plateau State.
GSS Gwom emerged first runner-up, while Al-Hilal Secondary School took second runner-up at the Plateau Teens Talent Hunt and Top Five Awards held on Friday, October 2, 2026, at the Joshua Dariye Hall, Plateau State Polytechnic, Jos campus.
The initiative, organised by the Stephen Dangana Foundation, is aimed at developing leadership skills, creativity, innovation and civic responsibility among secondary school students.
The project provided SS2 students from participating schools with opportunities to develop their skills, identify social challenges in their schools and communities, develop solutions and compete for recognition and educational support.
Speaking at the event, Convener and Chief Executive Officer of the Stephen Dangana Foundation, Rev. Dr. Steven Dangana, said the initiative was designed to challenge young people to think creatively and recognise the potential within them.
Dangana, who is also Special Adviser on Religious Affairs to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang and Senior Pastor of Citadel of Peace Assembly, said young people needed to be guided and mentored to develop solutions to societal challenges.
He said the programme focused on secondary school students because they are in their formative years and should be equipped early with the skills and values required to take up leadership responsibilities.
According to him, the students were encouraged to move beyond identifying problems to developing innovative and practical solutions.
The projects presented by the students addressed issues including hygiene, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, environmental challenges and economic hardship.
Delivering the keynote address on “Lead the Change, Be the Change,” former Director-General of the Plateau State Peace Building Agency, Dr Joseph Lengman, challenged the students to understand leadership as a responsibility driven by values, impact and service.
Lengman said investing in young people, particularly those in their formative secondary school years, was essential to preparing them for future leadership responsibilities.
He commended the Stephen Dangana Foundation for investing in mentorship and leadership development among young people.
The Project Director of the Stephen Dangana Foundation, Peter Attah Adoyi, explained that the programme targets teenagers across secondary schools in Plateau State with training in leadership, morality, entrepreneurship and innovation.
He said volunteers were trained and deployed to participating schools to deliver the programme’s curriculum to SS2 students.
According to Adoyi, the students were subsequently tasked with identifying social problems in their schools and communities and developing practical projects to address them.
He said government ministries and agencies were involved in assessing the projects based on predetermined criteria before the top projects were selected.
Among the projects recognised, Al-Hilal Secondary School focused on environmental hygiene and improving sanitation facilities in the school.
GSS Gwom’s project addressed the rising cost of cooking fuel by producing briquettes from charcoal and starch for domestic use and distributing them to households in the community.
Mafeng High School, which emerged overall winner, presented a technology-based project involving the use of a drone to conduct mineral analysis around the Lamingo Dam area. The students subsequently proposed making the findings available to the Ministry of Agriculture to support agricultural activities.
Reacting to the experience, Peggy of Mafeng High School said the programme taught her the importance of courage and creativity.
She said she learnt that young people should be confident even when speaking or presenting their ideas before a large audience, adding that creativity is not determined by age but is expressed through an individual’s ideas and actions.
Peggy expressed appreciation to the Stephen Dangana Foundation for organising the initiative, describing it as a unique experience and her school’s first participation in the programme.
She encouraged the foundation to sustain the initiative and continue motivating students, including those who did not emerge among the winners, to improve and participate in future editions.
Also speaking, Mustaf Kabir of Al-Hilal Secondary School expressed appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the programme and learn from the experience.
The participating schools included Merit Great Schools, Mafeng High School, Al-Hilal Secondary School, ECWA Private School Tudun Wada, Bethel International Christian Academy Rayfield, GSS Gwom, Amana Academy Jos and Blessed Academy.
The organisers said the initiative would continue to encourage young people to develop leadership values, creativity and practical solutions to challenges affecting their schools and communities.
