Author: PositiveNaija

Team Triarchy from Nigeria has emerged the overall winner of the 2017 Unilever Ideatrophy Challenge.

Team Triarchy had the trio of Temitope Smith, an undergraduate of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; Uzomba Ikechukwu, from the University of Ibadan and Egbo Chidera, from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The Unilever Ideatrophy Challenge now in its 6th edition is in line with Unilever’s quest to groom young talents in Nigeria and Ghana with a focus on undergraduates from both countries.

Other teams that won at the competition were: Ghana’s Team Kool T as the first runner-up, Team Classic (Nigeria) as second runner-up and Team Supernova (Ghana) as third runner-up. Team Midas (Nigeria) also won the “Most Compelling Idea Award”.

According to Uzomba Ikechukwu (Team Triarchy):

“The Ideatrophy competition has been a life-changing experience. We have learnt so much about working as a team to developing viable strategies for brand positioning and growth. Winning the competition is a dream come true for us and we will put in more efforts to win at the Africa region and global leg of the competition.”

The Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria-Ghana, Yaw Nsarkoh, reiterated Unilever’s commitment to touching lives every day through its products and social missions. He appreciated the efforts of all the participants and advised them to be persistent in the drive to achieve their goals. He also encouraged them to develop their knowledge and skills to meet up with global standards.

In the words of Mr. Nsarkoh:

“Being awake to what really matters, which is the theme for this year’s edition, is about understanding the power in you to make choices that will determine your future. There are constraints in life that compel us to make choices but every choice we make will always come with consequences. What is most important however is that whatever we do, we do to the best of our ability.”

The Ideatrophy competition was designed to develop young talents, mostly undergraduates across universities in Nigeria and Ghana along the lines of personal, leadership and entrepreneurial competencies. The boot camp for the competition opened in Lagos on October 2nd, 2017 where contestants were exposed to Unilever activities in sales, marketing, finance and supply chain. The participants were assigned to mentors who are seasoned business professionals, to guide them in the development of their business plans in preparation for their presentations whilst also engaging in other recreational activities.

The grand finale held in Lagos was attended by over 400 undergraduates from different Universities across the country. In addition to the competition, the visiting undergraduates were taken through series of employability workshops on how to prepare for interviews, writing of CVs and networking for career development.

The Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, an annual competition sponsored by NLNG has announced Ikeogu Oke as the winner of the 2017 edition.

Mr. Ikeogu Oke receives a cash prize of $100,000. Ikeogu Oke’s collection of poems, The Heresiad, came tops from among 184 entries received for the competition.

Chairman of the Panel of Judges, Ernest Emenyonu said most writers in Nigeria are now portraying their creativity which is an improvement in the literary sector. He said the benchmarks for selecting the winner among the 184 entries which were in various sizes and had diverse themes were quality and validity of publication year. According to Ernest Emenyonu:

“The seriousness with which the NLNG literary prize is received by the teeming population of writers in Nigeria is a sign that the expectations of writers swing beyond the prize itself to that of portraying their creativity.

Oke’s poetry collection reveals a conscious manipulation of language and philosophy in the style that reminds us of the writings of great Greek writers of Homeric and Hellenistic periods.”

Mr. Oke was the standards editor and deputy editor (arts and culture) at the now rested NEXT newspaper. He holds a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar, and an MA in Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The number of entries for the 2017 edition exceeded the 2013 numbers in the same category, showing a six percent increase in the number of entries received and increasing interest in one of the biggest literary prizes in the world.

This has been the trend since 2005, the first time Poetry was in focus, and for which only 13 entries were received. The next four years would see an exponential growth in the number of entries with 160 entries in 2009 and 174 in 2013.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates yearly among four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature.

The students of Lumen Christi International High School, have won the 2017 SEPLAT Pearls Quiz competition. The annual competition now in its 6th edition is organised by SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company PLC, operators of the NPDC/SEPLAT JV assets, OML 4, 38 & 41.

Lumen Christi International High School was represented by Kingsley Okafor, Cletus Ifedhor and Clinton Opara with each one of them receiving scholarships worth ₦100,000 and ₦7 million for their school.

Rejoice Imiebenomo Eromosele, Destiny Ekanioe and Mary Omo Ijogbe from Russel International Group of Schools, Benin City, Edo State emerged second and also won scholarships for themselves and a cash prize of ₦3 million for their school while the students of Delta Steel Company Technical High School, Ovwian, Aladja, represented by Uzezi Omaduvie Henry, Dorothy Ezekiel and Success Nwajei placed third also received scholarships and ₦1 million for the school.

According to Austin Avuru, MD/CEO of SEPLAT:

“This is the one [programme] dedicated to education and excellence. We have one dedicated to healthcare. This is designed to promote exceptional and responsible leaders. That is what this quiz competition is designed for.

It is still a programme we are very proud of. Through this programme we have awarded 45 scholarships, we have implemented projects in 12 schools. In the first four editions, the first prize was a Toyota Hiace bus. We changed that so that we don’t impose a vehicle on a school that doesn’t even need it.

What we do now, the first prize we execute ₦7 million worth of projects in the school. Give ₦100, 000 to each of the participating students. Second prize we execute ₦3 million worth of projects in the school and ₦75,000 to each of the students. For the third prize we execute ₦1 million worth of projects and ₦50, 000 for each of the students. There are other consolation prizes of ₦10,000 each that is given out to 105 schools since inception.”

Mr. Austin Avuru further explained that this is the sixth edition of the SEPLAT Pearls Quiz competition, which took off in 2012 with no less than 900 schools from Edo and Delta states participating annually.

Chiedu Ebie, Commission for Basic and Secondary Education, Delta State, who represented the state Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, said that the Delta State Government understands the importance in investing and building human capacity, particularly education.      

Explaining that the state was delighted to be hosting the event this year, he said that quiz competitions are aimed at building the spirit of healthy competition among students but the Seplat Pearls Quiz Competition in Delta and Edo states aims further than that.

According to Chiedu Ebie:

“It promotes unity and integration among the students of both states. It is a heartwarming story that in the past six years, SEPLAT has successfully held this competition, including awarding scholarships to secondary and tertiary school students.”