•Daniel Osunbor Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Tuesday, April 2, was one of the most rewarding days in the life of 16-year-old, Daniel Osunbor. After two years of efforts to win the Spelling Bee Competition organised for students of public schools in Lagos, he was finally declared winner.
His school, Ilupeju Senior Secondary school, was still in a joyous mood when Daily Sun visited. In the principal’s spacious office, the gold trophy he has just won, sat conspicuously on the principal’s table.

A handful of visitors sauntered in and out, congratulating the principal, Mrs. Adetola Omolara Adeneye, who said she had longed to be "mummy Governor."

Daniel’s journey to the State House began in 2006 when he was in SS1 and participated in the competition. He attempted twice and failed. Last year, a disappointed Daniel and his English teacher, Mr. Titilayo Osuntubo wept profusely after he lost in the fourth round. But the SS3 science student refused to give up, he was determined to win, so he worked hard to clinch the award this year.
For his English teacher, it was a double celebration. Osuntubo, whose wife was just delivered of a set of twins, abandoned them at the hospital to join the celebration train, that day after he got the news that his boy had finally made it.

Attributing his success to God and hard work, Daniel, who hails from Uhunwonde Local Government Area in Edo State, said: "I give glory to God because without Him I would not be what I am today. I feel very happy, excited and fulfilled because without Him I would not be what I am today. I feel very happy, excited and fulfilled because that is what I have been aiming to become since I started the competition in 2006. This year, I worked very hard because I had made up my mind to win."

The second of four children and a very shy boy, Daniel said the competition was quite interesting.
His words: "The students were good and all of them came fully prepared. It was after the fourth round that I gained more confidence that I would win. I would say God gave me the confidence because I prayed and the prayer worked."

Commenting on his reaction when he was announced as winner, he said: "I was speechless for some minutes. In fact, I was overwhelmed with joy."
For his efforts, he was given a cash prize of N250,000 and a gold trophy for his school. He intends to invest the money in shares.

As the governor of Lagos State, Daniel, whose ambition is to become a medical doctor, says education would be top on his priority.

"I would focus more on education by providing more infrastructure like laboratories, libraries and a very conducive environment for learning."

A shy Daniel, who loves watching football in his spare time, extolled the virtue of his teacher, Mr. Osuntubo, who he said really encouraged him.
Speaking on the preparation for the competition, the English teacher said: "We select brilliant students from among SS1 to SS3, groom and tutor them mainly on spelling test. We get the words from the dictionary. They also do oral presentation."

An elated Osuntubo revealed that the school had been participating in the competition from inception but this was the first time a winner had emerged from the school, though they have always won at the local level.

He said the disappointment of last year encouraged them to work really hard this year to win the competition.

His words: "We were fully prepared and Daniel worked really hard. As part of our research, we got to know that they do this type of competition abroad, so we got the film for him."
He advised other students to always work hard and set goals for themselves.
For the principal, Mrs. Adeneye, Daniel’s feat brought so much joy and fulfillment, that she could not help enthusing: "I am so happy and excited, I cannot even quantify it."

She explained that when the school won the competition, at the zonal level, she had summoned Daniel and encouraged him to work harder because she wanted to be ‘governor’s mummy.’ That was not all, she also urged him to make her dream come true.

"He did not disappoint me. We were watching it live in the office and praying that the cup should come to our school. When we won, we were jubilating and singing. The next day in the school, we praised God and danced. Since then, everybody has been jubilating with us."
Mrs. Adeneye, who described Daniel as a hard working and brilliant boy, advised other students to emulate him.

"We have told them that hard work does not kill. It elevates one. Daniel was determined and focused and the Lord gave him the wisdom to answer all the questions properly. Poverty is not an excuse for not learning. If a child is focused and determined, the sky is the limit," she said.
The Spelling Bee Competition is organised annually for students in public schools in the state to showcase their innate talents and help inculcate in them the good culture of healthy rivalry for better academic performance.

The competition, an initiative of the New Era foundation, was taken over by the Lagos State Ministry of Education in 2006 to ensure the continuity of the programme.
About 54 secondary schools took part in the competition, which is also aimed at defining new educational standards in public schools in the state.