A 15 years old, Miss. Oluwanifemi Bright Ayeni of State Senior High School, GRA Ikeja, Lagos, 15-year old Roqeed Abolaji Yekini of Ijegun Senior Comprehensive High School, Isolo, Lagos, and 13-year-old Miss Eneche Leila, of Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, have emerged as first, second and third place winners, respectively, of 2022, Bishop Mike Okonkwo National Essays Competition for senior secondary schools In Nigeria.
A statement signed by the competition’s chief examiner, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, while commending the organizers for discouraging handwritten entries, described the topic as friendly and clearly mapped out the structural expectations for informed students as they responded by articulating their understanding of the Nigerian situation in ways that revealed their deep immersion in socio-political issues.
Said Ezeigbo, “As usual, the writers of the 10 best essays were invited to the second round of the competition to write on the topic, “2023 Election: A New Nigeria or a Descent Into Chaos.”
According to the chief examiner, “Ayeni is the winner of the competition for this year. Yekini took the second position while Eneche placed third.
The winners showed an impressive understanding of the two topics and were able to address them as exceptional students in their class and category should. Their orderly presentation of ideas and remarkable control of the English language marked them out as meticulous people with huge potential. We congratulate the other finalists and wish them the very best in their future endeavours.
For her efforts, Ayeni will be smiling home with a cheque of N100,000, a personal laptop, a trophy and a plaque, while the school gets three sets of computers. Yekini will go home with a cheque of N75,000, a plaque and the school will get two sets of computers. For emerging the third position in this year’s competition, Eneche will go home with a cheque of N50,000, a plaque and the school gets a computer set. The other winners will get a consolation price of N20,000 each.
The prices for the winners of the 17th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for Secondary Schools in the country will be presented at this year’s Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
The theme for this year’s lecture is “Nigeria, A Country At War Against Itself: The Problems, The Solutions And The Way Forward”.
Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition was initiated in the year 2004, as part of activities to celebrate the Birthday of the Presiding Bishop of TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo (MFR), and more importantly to contribute to the development of the Educational Sector.
Dr. Mike Okonkwo has continued in this gesture for 17 years, using his God-given talent, strength, and resources to be a blessing to the younger generation in the pursuit of academic excellence by encouraging them to cultivate the habit of reading and writing effectively. This man of God, who believes in the absolute development of mankind in all facets of life, has used the institutionalization of the Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition to achieve this dream and desire.
The essay competition program has helped some students that participated in the program to develop more interest in research work, reading extensively, and writing constructively. Apart from serving as a tool to encourage reading and writing, the competition has also given the students the opportunity to bare their minds on topical issues that are significant to the social-economic development of our nation. The essay competition has also contributed to ICT development in secondary schools, especially in government-owned schools. Winners have emerged from both government-owned schools and private schools, and they have always been encouraged with gifts both in-kind and cash.
The Chief Sponsor and visionary of the program, Dr. Mike Okonkwo, is confident of the fact that Nigerian youths can compete favorably with their counterparts in developed nations.