UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United
Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has commenced the 2019 edition of its annual
National Essay Competition in Nigeria with a call for entries.
Now in its 9th year, the essay competition, targeted at senior
secondary school students in Nigeria is organised annually, as part of
UBA Foundation’s education initiative which is aimed at promoting the
reading culture and encouraging healthy and intellectual competition
amongst secondary school students in Nigeria and across Africa.
_l-r: Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr.
Lashe Osoba; Managing Director /CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta;
Group Head, Direct Sales Agency, UBA Plc Ogechi Altraide; and Group
Head, Energy and Oil, UBA Plc, Mr. Ebele Ogbue, during the commencement
Ceremony for the 2019 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for
senior secondary school students in Nigeria held at UBA House on
Tuesday_
At the media launch which took place at UBA headquarters in Lagos, the
call for entries was announced today. Speaking at the event, the Chief
Executive Officer, UBA Foundation, Mrs. Bola Atta, said the essay
competition, which is in its ninth edition, 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.
Beginning from last year, the prize money increased significantly as
the UBA Foundation emphasises that education remains one of the
foundation’s key initiatives.
_ Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr.
Lashe Osoba; English Teacher, Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Mrs Ezechukwu
Ngozi; Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; Group Head,
Direct Sales Agency, UBA Plc, Ogechi Altraide; Group Head, Energy and
Oil, UBA Plc, Mr. Ebele Ogbue, during the commencement Ceremony for the
2019 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for senior secondary
school students in Nigeria held at UBA House on Tuesday_
The first prize for the UBA National Essay Competition is a N2 million
educational grant, while the second and third prizes are N1.5 million
and N1m educational grants respectively.
Speaking to the students and participants at the event, Bola 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,” she noted.
“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,” Bola Atta told the excited students.
Explaining the modalities for the competition, she stated that entries
received from students for the competition will be reviewed by a
distinguished panel of judges made up of professors from reputable
Nigerian Universities, who will then shortlist 12 best essays for
further assessment.
Following this, a second round of the competition will involve the 12
finalists who will write a second supervised essay from which three best
essays will be selected as the overall winners from the 12 finalists
emerged from the first round of the competition.
Atta explained that the choice of essay for this year’s competition
is one that helps promote creative and analytical thinking in students
and helps them to be problem solvers. This year, the topic is “What do
you think the government should do to control fraud in Nigeria?”
It is important to note that apart from Nigeria, the national essay
competition has been taken to other African countries including Ghana
and Senegal. More countries including Mozambique and Kenya will kick
off the initiative this year. A unique component of this year’s
edition is that, schools that turn in the highest number of entries will
be recognised and rewarded a special prize by the Foundation.
_Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr.
Lashe Osoba; English Teacher, Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Mrs Ezechukwu
Ngozi; Managing Director /CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; Group
Head, Direct Sales Agency, UBA Plc Ogechi Altraide; Group Head, External
and Media Relations, UBA Plc, Mr. Ramon Nasir, flanked by students and
teachers of some selected secondary schools in Lagos during the
commencement Ceremony for the 2019 UBA Foundation National Essay
Competition for senior secondary school students in Nigeria held at UBA
House on Tuesday_
Also speaking at the call to entries today, the Group Head, Direct
Sales Agency, Ogechi Altraide, who spoke 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 is 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.
According to her, reading and writing go hand in hand, and so it is
important for students to keep abreast of how the economy can develop
through reading and writing.
An English teacher from Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Mrs Ezechukwu Ngozi,
gave the students tips on how to write good essays, and advised them to
keep to the proper tenets of essay writing to come out tops in the
competition.
_Managing Director /CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; Group Head,
Direct Sales Agency, United Bank for Africa(UBA)Plc, Mrs Ogechi
Altraide; Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc,
Mr. Lashe Osoba, flanked by students of some selected secondary schools
in Lagos during the commencement Ceremony for the 2019 UBA Foundation
National Essay Competition for senior secondary school students in
Nigeria held at UBA House on Tuesday_
As the CSR platform for the UBA Group, UBA Foundation embodies the
Group’s CSR objectives and seeks to impact positively on societies
through a number of laudable projects and initiatives.
Each year, the bank donates thousands of books to students in Nigeria
and across Africa, under the ‘Read Africa’ initiative to encourage
and promote the reading culture in secondary schools.