UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United
\nBank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has commenced the 2019 edition of its annual
\nNational Essay Competition in Nigeria with a call for entries.<\/p>\n
Now in its 9th year, the essay competition, targeted at senior
\nsecondary school students in Nigeria is organised annually, as part of
\nUBA Foundation\u2019s education initiative which is aimed at promoting the
\nreading culture and encouraging healthy and intellectual competition
\namongst secondary school students in Nigeria and across Africa.<\/p>\n
_l-r: Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr.
\nLashe Osoba; Managing Director \/CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta;
\nGroup Head, Direct Sales Agency, UBA Plc Ogechi Altraide;\u00a0 and Group
\nHead, Energy and Oil, UBA Plc, Mr. Ebele Ogbue, during the commencement
\nCeremony for the 2019 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for
\nsenior secondary school students\u00a0 in Nigeria held at UBA House on
\nTuesday_<\/p>\n
At the media launch which took place at UBA headquarters in Lagos, the
\ncall for entries was announced today. Speaking at the event, the Chief
\nExecutive Officer, UBA Foundation, Mrs. Bola Atta, said the essay
\ncompetition, which is in its ninth edition, will provide an opportunity
\nfor students in secondary schools across the country to put in their
\nentries and to win prizes in the form of educational grants to study in
\nany university of their choice on the African continent.<\/p>\n
Beginning from last year, the prize money increased significantly as
\nthe UBA Foundation emphasises that education remains one of the
\nfoundation\u2019s key initiatives.<\/p>\n
_ Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr.
\nLashe Osoba; English Teacher, Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Mrs Ezechukwu
\nNgozi; Managing Director\/CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; Group Head,
\nDirect Sales Agency, UBA Plc, Ogechi Altraide; Group Head, Energy and
\nOil, UBA Plc, Mr. Ebele Ogbue, during the commencement Ceremony for the
\n2019 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for senior secondary
\nschool students\u00a0 in Nigeria held at UBA House on Tuesday_<\/p>\n
The first prize for the UBA National Essay Competition is a N2 million
\neducational grant, while the second and third prizes are N1.5 million
\nand N1m educational grants respectively.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the students and participants at the event, Bola Atta said,
\n\u201cTo us at the Foundation, this is our drive to improve the quality of
\neducation across the continent. It is also our way of giving back to the
\nsociety.\u00a0 The competition is a key aspect of our investment drive in
\nhuman capital, as we seek to improve knowledge base, allow students to
\nexpress themselves and write creatively. We will continue to sustain the
\ninitiative because education is very important to UBA and we are more
\nthan committed to providing the necessary support for students in
\nNigeria and across the African continent,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are driven by the mantra to do well and do good and we will not
\nrelent in our efforts to touch lives through our various projects, and
\ninitiatives,\u201d Bola Atta told the excited students.<\/p>\n
Explaining the modalities for the competition, she stated that entries
\nreceived from students for the competition will be reviewed by a
\ndistinguished panel of judges made up of professors from reputable
\nNigerian Universities, who will then shortlist 12 best essays for
\nfurther assessment.<\/p>\n
Following this, a second round of the competition will involve the 12
\nfinalists who will write a second supervised essay from which three best
\nessays will be selected as the overall winners from the 12 finalists
\nemerged from the first round of the competition.<\/p>\n
Atta explained that the choice of essay for this year\u2019s competition
\nis one that helps promote creative and analytical thinking in students
\nand helps them to be problem solvers. This year, the topic is \u201cWhat do
\nyou think the government should do to control fraud in Nigeria?\u201d<\/p>\n
It is important to note that apart from Nigeria, the national essay
\ncompetition has been taken to other African countries including Ghana
\nand Senegal. More\u00a0 countries including Mozambique and Kenya will kick
\noff the initiative this year. A unique component of this year\u2019s
\nedition is that, schools that turn in the highest number of entries will
\nbe recognised and rewarded a special prize by the Foundation.<\/p>\n
_Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr.
\nLashe Osoba; English Teacher, Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Mrs Ezechukwu
\nNgozi; Managing Director \/CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; Group
\nHead, Direct Sales Agency, UBA Plc Ogechi Altraide; Group Head, External
\nand Media Relations,\u00a0 UBA Plc, Mr. Ramon Nasir, flanked by students and
\nteachers of some selected secondary schools in Lagos during the
\ncommencement Ceremony for the 2019 UBA Foundation National Essay
\nCompetition for senior secondary school students in Nigeria held at UBA
\nHouse on Tuesday_<\/p>\n
Also speaking at the call to entries today, the Group Head, Direct
\nSales Agency, Ogechi Altraide, who spoke on the benefits of reading and
\nwriting essays, motivated the students to research into the topics and
\ngive it their best shot, adding that there is the need for them to focus
\non adapting themselves to happenings in their generation, and to have a
\ngrowth mindset. This she explained, will ensure that they can apply
\nthemselves and conquer whatever challenges they are faced with.<\/p>\n
According to her, reading and writing go hand in hand, and so it is
\nimportant for students to keep abreast of how the economy can develop
\nthrough reading and writing.<\/p>\n
An English teacher from Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Mrs Ezechukwu Ngozi,
\ngave the students tips on how to write good essays, and advised them to
\nkeep to the proper tenets of essay writing to come out tops in the
\ncompetition.<\/p>\n
_Managing Director \/CEO, UBA Foundation, Mrs Bola Atta; Group Head,
\nDirect Sales Agency, United Bank for Africa(UBA)Plc, Mrs Ogechi
\nAltraide; Group Head, Brand Management, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc,
\nMr. Lashe Osoba, flanked by students of some selected secondary schools
\nin Lagos during the commencement Ceremony for the 2019 UBA Foundation
\nNational Essay Competition for senior secondary school students\u00a0 in
\nNigeria held at UBA House on Tuesday_<\/p>\n
As the CSR platform for the UBA Group, UBA Foundation embodies the
\nGroup\u2019s CSR objectives and seeks to impact positively on societies
\nthrough a number of laudable projects and initiatives.<\/p>\n
Each year, the bank donates thousands of books to students in Nigeria
\nand across Africa, under the \u2018Read Africa\u2019 initiative to encourage
\nand promote the reading culture in secondary schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pointblanknews-investigations"],"yoast_head":"\n