By Bose Adelaja
TeamMasters Limited will by October hold the first Trans-national Spelling Bee competition in Africa which cuts across primary, junior and senior secondary schools students in the country.

The competition with the theme: ‘’Share the light’’, is unique in the sense that it is the first competition  dedicated to raise N5 million to support the education of blind children in Nigeria.

It is eligible to all students between seven and 17 years of age, including blind students nationwide from 10 states of the federation. It is organised in conjunction with Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind, ANWAB as led by a visually impaired Danlami Umaru Basharu.

Thje brain behind the competition, Rotimi Eyitayo, told Vanguard Metro in Lagos that the competition will feature four stages: district finals, state finals, national finals and trans-national finals which entails the national champion in Nigeria travelling to Ghana to compete with their top finalist. ‘’The competition is open for participation, sponsorship and donations from the public. We are interested in what ANWAB is doing and we want to use the competition to support the plight of blind students in Nigeria, ‘’ he said.

Responding Danlami, who commended such gesture, called on parents to encourage their wards to spell. ‘’It is disheartening to hear about students’ poor performance in English Language in spite of the fact that the subject is mandatory in most schools in Nigeria. This problem could have been averted through simple exercises like this,’’ he said.

He seized the occasion to call on President Goodluck Jonathan to sign the National Disability Bill into law, saying this will help to ameliorate the suffering of persons with disabilities.