UBA Foundation has commenced the 2019 edition of its annual National Essay Competition in Nigeria with a call for entries, now in its ninth year.
The essay competition, targeted at senior secondary school students, is organised annually as part of UBA Foundation’s Education initiative aimed at promoting reading culture and encouraging healthy and intellectual competition among secondary school students in Nigeria and across Africa.
Bola Atta, CEO, UBA Foundation, says the essay competition will provide an opportunity for students in secondary schools across the country to put in their entries and to win prizes in the form of educational grants to study in any university of their choice on the African continent.
Atta, while speaking at the media launch to unveil the call for entries, Tuesday at UBA headquarters in Lagos, said in 2018, the prize money increased significantly as the UBA Foundation emphasised that education remained one of the Foundation’s key initiatives.
According to Atta, “The first prize for the UBA National Essay Competition is an N2 million educational grant, while the second and third prizes are N1.5 million and N1 million educational grants, respectively.”
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Speaking with the students and participants at the event, Atta said, “to us at the foundation,this is our drive to improve the quality of education across the continent. It is also our way of giving back to the society. The competition is a key aspect of our investment drive in human capital,as we seek to improve knowledge base, allow students to express themselves and write creatively. We will continue to sustain the initiative because education is very important to UBA and we are more than committed to providing the necessary support for students in Nigeria and across the African continent.
“We are driven by the mantra to do well and do good and we will not relent in our efforts to touch lives through our various projects, and initiatives.”
Ogechi Altraide, group head, Direct Sales Agency, while speaking on the benefits of reading and writing essays, motivated the students to research into the topics and give it their best shot, adding that there was the need for them to focus on adapting themselves to happenings in their generation, and to have a growth mindset. This, she explained, will ensure that they can apply themselves and conquer whatever challenges they are faced with.
