Winners emerge in 2022 Mike Okonkwo national essay competition

Fifteen-year-old Ayeni Oluwanifemi Bright of State Senior High School, GRA Ikeja, has emerged winner of this year’s Bishop Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

Yekini Roqeed Abolaji of Ijegun Senior Comprehensive High School, Isolo, and 13-year-old Enecha Leila of Vivian Fowler’s Memorial College For Girls, Oregun, Ikeja, also emerged as first and second runners-up in the competition.

The chief examiner, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, while commending the organisers 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.

“As usual, 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 descent into chaos.”

“Bright won the competition for this year, Abolaji emerged the first runner up while Leila was the second runner up. 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,” Ezeigbo said.

Second runner up, Eneche Leila.

The prizes will be presented at this year’s Mike Okonkwo yearly Lecture, at the Shell Hall Muson Centre, Onikan, on September 8, 2022.

The theme for this year’s lecture is “Nigeria: A country at war against itself: The problems, solutions and way forward.”

First runner up, Yekini Roqeed Abolaji

Apart from serving as a tool to encourage reading and writing, the competition has also given students the opportunity to bare their minds on topical issues significant to the socio-economic development of the nation.

The competition has also contributed to ICT development in secondary schools, especially in public schools.