15-year-old Miss Oluwanifemi Bright Ayeni of State Senior High School, GRA Ikeja, Lagos, has emerged overall winner of the Bishop Mike Okonkwo 2022 National Essays Competition for senior secondary schools in Nigeria.
15-year-old Roqeed Abolaji Yekini of Ijegun Senior Comprehensive High School, Isolo, Lagos, and 13-year-old Miss Eneche Leila, of Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, have emerged as second and third place winners, respectively.
A statement signed by the competition’s chief examiner, Professor Akachi Ezeigbo, while commending the organizers for discouraging handwritten entries, described the topic as friendly and clearly mapped out the structural expectations for informed students as they responded by articulating their understanding of the Nigerian situation in ways that revealed their deep immersion in socio-political issues.
According to Professor Ezeigbo:
“As usual, the writers of the 10 best essays were invited to the second round of the competition to write on the topic, ‘2023 Election: A New Nigeria or a Descent Into Chaos’.
Ayeni is the winner of the competition for this year. Yekini took the second position while Eneche placed third.
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. We congratulate the other finalists and wish them the very best in their future endeavours.”
For her efforts, Oluwanifemi Bright Ayeni receives ₦100,000, a personal laptop, a trophy and a plaque, while the school gets three sets of computers. Yekini receives ₦75,000, a plaque and the school will get two sets of computers. For emerging the third position in this year’s competition, Eneche receives ₦50,000, a plaque and the school gets a computer set. The other winners receive a consolation price of ₦20,000 each.
The prizes for the winners of the 17th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for Secondary Schools in the country will be presented at this year’s Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture on September 8, 2022.
The theme for this year’s lecture is “Nigeria, A Country At War Against Itself: The Problems, The Solutions And The Way Forward”.
Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition was initiated in the year 2004, as part of activities to celebrate the Birthday of the Presiding Bishop of TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo (MFR), and more importantly to contribute to the development of the Educational Sector.
Dr. Mike Okonkwo has continued in this gesture for 17 years, using his God-given talent, strength, and resources to be a blessing to the younger generation in the pursuit of academic excellence by encouraging them to cultivate the habit of reading and writing effectively.
