UBA DEFIED ODDS, RAISING GENERATION OF CHAMPIONS

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Charles Ajunwa writes that the recently concluded 2023 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition discovered talented young students whose educational pursuits got lifetime boosts.

 The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has defied all odds and continues to invest heavily in education through its Read Africa project and the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition. These programmes apart from helping to build human capacity, they nurture and mentor students in secondary schools to compete favourably with their peers from all parts of the world. The bank’s commitment to education is total and has come to stay.

The UBA Foundation showed exemplary courage and resilience amidst the challenges that affected the continent, including the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, by giving students in senior secondary school the opportunity to participate in the National Essay Competition and showcase their writing skills through a dedicated digital platform.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 that year, Chief Executive Officer, UBA Foundation, Mrs. Bola Atta, had given reasons why the foundation sustained the educational programme.

“As a foundation, which is the CSR arm of the United Bank for Africa – a fully digitalised bank – we are driven by the mantra to always innovate and adapt to our constantly changing environment.

“This year (2020), we thought hard about how to ease the pains that everyone is feeling. Students have not been able to go to school and there has been a lot of anxiety in families trying to ensure that educational gaps do not emerge. It is imperative for us at the UBA Foundation that our impact programmes do not wane.

“We also need to design them to be as inclusive as possible so that those students who don’t have easy access to computers can still participate in the competition with a chance to win grants towards their tertiary education,” she explained.

With COVID-19 no longer a global threat, the organisers of the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition approved physical presence at this year’s grand finale. Essay topic: Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) take over Human Intelligence? What should students do to ensure AI doesn’t override but enhance their ability to learn through research?

From nearly 12,000 entries from Senior Secondary School students across Nigeria, only 12 finalists were initially selected.

Tony Elumelu Amphitheatre in UBA House, Lagos, venue of the grand finale was filled to capacity last Tuesday.

Apart from excitement from the 12 successful finalists, their colleagues, parents and other invited guests exchanged pleasantries. However, palpable tension was written in the faces of the finalists in the hall.

The silence in the hall was suddenly broken by shouts of “Yes!!! I won!! I did it!!!” when 15-year-old Onaro Adaeze Chukwuzolem, a student of Fountain Heights Secondary School, Surulere Lagos, was announced as the overall winner beating the 11 other finalists.

Chukwuzoem’s elation and gratitude were evident as she expressed, “This opportunity has changed my life, and I really appreciate the UBA and the UBA Foundation for this.”

Following the second essay written by the 12 selected finalists, Chukwuzolem emerged winner and secured a prestigious scholarship worth N5 million to pursue her studies in any African university of her choice, along with a modern laptop and other prizes.

The UBA Foundation’s commitment to fostering education and transforming lives was further underscored through constant mentoring that Chukwuzolem will receive throughout her educational journey.

Other winners are Abdulhameed Khadijah Husna of Sweet Haven High School, Kano State, who clinched the second prize with a N3 million educational grant, a laptop, and additional prizes. While Chukwuma-Okoh Naomi from Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, secured the third prize, which included a N2.5 million grant and a brand-new laptop.

The remaining nine finalists, which included two boys, were not left empty-handed, as they received brand new laptops and consolation prizes.

A highly excited UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, apart from appreciating the participants, emphasised the bank’s unwavering commitment to youth empowerment.

“UBA is proud to be associated with this event. Annually, we put aside a percentage of our profits to change lives, and we are committed to doing this annually,” he said.

“The National Essay Competition has become a pivotal platform for promoting education, literacy, and critical thinking among Nigerian youth, making a positive impact on their lives and society at large,” Alawuba said.

The Managing Director/CEO of UBA Foundation, Atta, who commended the winners for their exceptional brilliance, encouraged those who did not secure top positions to view it as a challenge for improvement.

Atta, highlighted the Foundation’s dedication to extending this impactful competition to other African countries, reinforcing its commitment to socio-economic betterment through initiatives in Education, Environment, Economic Empowerment, and Special Projects.

 “It is important to note at this point that this same competition is being replicated in some other African countries where UBA operates such as Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, Uganda, Cote D’Ivoire. Other countries like Zambia, Gabon, Chad and Benin Republic have plans to conduct the NEC in the first quarter of 2024,” Atta added.

It is expected that the financial institution through this intervention in the education system and many more would continue to contribute towards building generation of champions.