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Rewards 10 essay writing students

By Adesina Wahab

The Presiding Bishop of the The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, has said providing quality education for the youths is a major key to the social and economic development of the country.

He stated that is in Lagos during the presentation of prizes to the winners of the Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition held as part of the activities to mark his birthday.

According to him, “the essay competition has helped some students that participated 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 and I am confident of the fact that Nigerian youths can compete favorably with their counterparts in developed nations.”

The winners are: Miss. Ayeni, Oluwanifemi Bright of State Senior High School, GRA Ikeja, Lagos; who came first, Yekini Roqeed Abolaji of Ijegun Senior Comprehensive High School, Isolo, Lagos who came second and Miss Enecha Leila, of Vivian Fowler’s Memorial College For Girls Oregun Ikeja Lagos, who came third.

For their efforts, Miss Ayeni went home with a cheque of N100,000, a personal laptop, a trophy, and a plaque, while her school got three sets of computers. Master Yekini got a cheque of N75,000, a plaque and his school got two sets of computers. For emerging the third position winner, Miss Enecha got N50,000, a plaque and her school got a computer set. Seven other winners got a consolation price of N20,000 each.

The 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 the informed students as they responded by articulating their understanding of the Nigerian situations in ways that revealed their deep immersion in socio-political issues.

“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,” she stated.