16-year-old Ojedele Jesuferanmi Emmanuel, a 200-level student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), has emerged as the winner of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition for the 2024 edition.
Ojedele Jesuferanmi Emmanuel, who is studying Architecture, was declared the winner among the top 10 finalists at the 8th award and prize-giving ceremony held at the NCDMB Tower, Ox-Bow Lake, Yenagoa.
The FUTA undergraduate received a ₦1 million cash prize, a brand-new laptop, and a golden plaque. Miracle Okoli, a 23-year-old 200-level Law student at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, from Anambra State, took second place and received ₦750,000, a brand-new laptop, and a plaque.
The third position went to Okogbe Mary, a 19-year-old student at Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, who is in her second year studying Electrical Engineering with a current CGPA of 4.93.
She received ₦500,000, a brand-new laptop, and a plaque.
Speaking at the grand finale of the 2024 edition, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, congratulated all the participants in the competition, particularly the top 10 finalists and the overall winner.
Represented by the board’s general manager of corporate communications, Esueme Dan-Kikile, Ogbe expressed his satisfaction that the programme had become another signature event for NCDMB, comparable to their Science Quiz Competition for High School students, which was conceived to stimulate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
“The NCDMB has sustained the sponsorship of this contest for 8 years because of the huge importance we attach to education and the intellectual development of young members of our society. Our sponsorship of this competition is in line with our mandate, which is capacity-building and local content development.
The NCDMB began to sponsor this competition because we understood the need to inculcate Local Content consciousness among undergraduates in our higher institutions, to make them understand that Local Content is an economic imperative for sustainable development of our local economy, creation of job opportunities and national security.
Furthermore, the annual national undergraduates’ essay competition is one of NCDMB’s multiple interventions to lift the standard of education in Nigeria. It aims to promote proficiency in writing, awareness of local content and its benefit to the national economy, and to engender citizen engagement from the undergraduate level.
Through this programme, the Board seeks to promote liberal arts education, and the development of vital soft skills required in the workplace and business in the emerging digital world economy. The programme will help to enhance effective communication, analytical and critical thinking skills as well as problem-solving abilities in our undergraduates.”
In his welcome address, Mr. Eyinimi Omorizi, the Chief Executive Officer of Mahogany 21st Century Concepts Limited, the organisers of the essay competition, said the top finalists emerged after a fierce competition involving over 2,000 undergraduates across the country.
He commended the top finalists for their painstaking efforts in attaining the feat as well as the NCDMB for sustaining the competition.
