A 15-year-old student of His Grace High School, Enugu State, Miss Esther Eziaku, has emerged the overall winner of UBA’s annual National Essay Competition (NEC).
The Competition which is in its 11th year, was held Tuesday, December 7 at the Tony Elumelu Amphitheatre, UBA House, Marina Lagos.
Eziaku beat 11 other finalists selected from over 7, 000 entries received digitally by the UBA Foundation from students of senior secondary schools across Nigeria.
She won educational grant of N3 million to study at any African university of her choice.
She also received a state-of the-art laptop and many other educational tools from the UBA Foundation.
She will be supported throughout her educational career and beyond with constant mentoring by the UBA Foundation.
Speaking after she won the competition, Eziaku said: “I am so grateful to UBA Foundation for this grand opportunity. It was not very easy as I had to study hard and conduct a lot of research, but I am happy that it paid off for me.
“This opportunity has changed my life, made me want to learn more, read more and to aspire to be a better person. I really appreciate the UBA and the UBA Foundation for this.
“The UBA Foundation’s Education initiative has been changing lives for over a decade as the tertiary education scholarship programme continues to impact the lives of many students and their communities at large.”
The second prize went to Nduka Chukwuemeka of Oxfords international School, Abia State.
Aged 17, he won a N2, 500, 000 educational grant and a laptop.
Fifteen-year-old Miss Hajarat Abdulwahab of Addy Basic School, Kano came third and went home with N2, 000, 000 and a brand new lap top.
The other 9 finalists also received brand new laptops as well as consolation prizes, including books and other learning materials.
In his remarks the managing director/chief executive officer of UBA Plc Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said the bank was happy that it has been touching lives and making a solid impact through the UBA Foundation.
He added that the competition “has produced hundreds of winners, some of who have long graduated from higher schools and have been impacting their communities.”
“Like we did last year, we again increased the prizes to match the rising cost of living.
“Over the years, we have been assured that we are doing something very unique and truly African, and this is why the initiative is for those who wish to study in Africa, because we are proud of our continent,” he added.
In her remarks, the managing director and chief executive officer of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, congratulated the winners and commended them for their exceptional brilliance.
“Every student who sent in an entry is a winner. To be confident about your writing skills and ambitious enough to enter a competition to further enhance your educational path is laudable.
“For those that did not win, I would say do not be discouraged. Take it as a challenge to perfect your writing skills and enter for the competition again next year,” she said.
She also stated that the UBA Foundation, being the CSR arm of UBA Plc, makes it a point of duty to give back to communities where UBA operates.
“Education remains one of the Foundation’s focus areas as it is the bedrock of any nation,” she added.
Conceived by UBA Foundation, CSR arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, the event was attended by students, parents and staff of the bank.
UBA Foundation’s National Essay Competition has been rolled out to other African countries including Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea, with plans for more footprints in 2022.
UBA Foundation, the CSR arm of the UBA Group, is committed to the socio-economic betterment of the communities in which the bank operates, focusing on development in the areas of education, environment, economic empowerment and special projects.
