15-year-old Lagos student wins UBA national essay competition

Onaro Adaeze, a 15-year-old student of Fountain Heights Secondary School in Lagos, has won the 2023 United Bank for Africa (UBA) national essay competition (NEC).

Onaro was named the winner of the competition at the grand finale held at the Tony Elumelu amphitheatre in UBA House, Lagos, on Tuesday.

For emerging the winner of the 13th edition, Onaro was awarded a scholarship worth N5 million to study at any African university of her choice. 

AbdulHameed Khadija of Sweet Haven High School, Kano, was named the first runner-up, winning N3 million worth of scholarship, while Chukwuma-Okoh Naomi of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, was adjudged the second runner-up with a prize of N2.5 million worth of scholarship.

According to Bola Atta, chief executive officer of UBA Foundation, almost 12,000 entries were submitted for the preliminary stage of the competition.

The applicants wrote about artificial intelligence and what students can do to ensure the tool does not override but enhance their ability to learn through research.

After the first stage, 12 finalists were shortlisted. Among them were nine girls and three boys.

The final round of the contest had the shortlisted students dissecting Nigeria’s political challenge through the country’s ethnic diversity — while proffering solutions.

“The quality of entries that we received this year was amazing. And the quality of the winners is even more amazing. They are just excellent, fast-paced with ability and talent,” Atta said.

“There is a year-on-year improvement in what we received in the national essay competition.”

On his part, Oliver Alawuba, UBA group managing director, said the competition aims to sharpen the critical thinking ability of youth across Africa and groom them for leadership on the continent.

“The focus of the UBA national essay competition is the African youth. The objective is to improve the critical thinking ability and reading skills of African youth and position them for leadership on the continent,” he said.

“The benefit is to see them research on a particular topic and write on issues on the African continent.

“For the past 13 years, UBA has supported the competition, and we have seen winners go on to do well in their various ways of life.”