CONGRATS:15-yr-old girl wins UBA Foundation Essay contest(photos)

WINNERS of the 2014 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition have emerged. This was disclose on Monday in a ceremony held at UBA House, Lagos.Miss Fabelurin Fehintoluwa 15, of Maverick College, Ibadan, Oyo State clinches the N1 million education grant to attend any university of her choice in Africa. The grant becomes effective immediately she gains admission to the university.Besides, 16-year-old Master Obi Daniel Chukwudum of St. Thomas Secondary School, Kano and Master Sunday Kenneth Ikemsinachi 15, of Dority International Secondary School, Aba, Abia State emerged as first and second runner-up respectively carting away with N750,000 and N500,000 grants to study in any African University of their choice...SEE PHOTOS AFTER THE BREAK





The three winners emerged after 12 finalists were invited from a total of nearly 2000 entries to write a final essay competition at the UBA Head Office in Lagos from which three emerged overall winners. All 12 finalists were also given certificates and brand new laptops to help them in their studies.Congratulating the finalists for their excellent performances, Deputy Managing Director and CEO of UBA Africa, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, pointed out that UBA takes pride in the national essay competition because it stimulates intellectual competition among African youths.Explaining why the educational grants are tenable in only African universities, he said that it is because UBA is a proud pan-African bank that sees the huge potentials offered by the continent. He charged the grantees to be good ambassadors of the bank as the “grant is subject to good behaviour”Meanwhile, Ijeoma Aso, the MD/CEO UBA Foundation while praising the quality of entries received for this year’s competition congratulated all the 12 finalists of the competition.She said “You should be happy you made it to this point because it shows that the quality of your entry was good. I will encourage all those who did not win this year, to try again next year. It shows persistence when you do not give up.”On his part, Mr Apollos Ikpobe, Deputy Managing Director Domestic Bank, UBA Plc,  urged the students to set a vision for themselves on what they want to achieve in life.Using examples of successful entrepreneurs like Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Tony Elumelu and a host of others, he tasked the students to see beyond the current challenges and set a vision for themselves and work towards that vision.The UBA Foundation National Essay Competition, which is open to all students of Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria, is a follow up on the Foundation’s Read Africa Initiative and aims at providing a competitive platform to develop the intellectual and writing abilities of senior secondary school students in Nigeria.The competition has been held annually since 2011 with students being challenged to write on different engaging topics.

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