Out of the 795 essay entries for the 18th Bishop Mike Okonkwo Essay Competition for Secondary School students in Nigeria, Ike Destiny, from VIK International School, Akere Alagbado, in Ogun State, and Alexander Chibuzor of Archbishop Heerey Technical College, Ogidi, Anambra State, have emerged winners, clinching first and second position, respectively.
According to the chief examiner, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, “Destiny and Alexander addressed the topic within the mental orbit of their age and demonstrated commendable passion and independent thinking in their writing. We congratulate and present them as exemplars of young people determined to forge their own path through critical use of easy ways.”
In addition, Ezeigbo disclosed that “we are constrained to present an overall winner and just one runner-up this year, against the normal practice of presenting one winner and two runners-up,” she then added that “A considerable chunk of the entries we received was, as usual, unsuitable for consideration. They were either lifted directly from online sources and presented as original materials or were revised and presented as such. We are used to this practice among young people, and so spent considerable time tracking the essays on the internet in line with our quality control procedures.”
For their efforts, Miss Ike Destiny will be smiling home with a cheque of N500,000, a trophy, and a plaque, while the school gets a set of computer. For Master Chibuzor Alexander who came second, will go home with a cheque of N250,000, a plaque and the school will get a set of computer.
The prices for the winners of the 18th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for Secondary Schools in the country will be presented at this year’s Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, at the Zenith Shell Hall Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos, on Thursday, September 7, 2023.
The Corporate Service Director, Rev. (Mrs.) Oluwayomi Uteh said the theme for this year’s lecture is “Nigerianization of Nigerians: A Look Inward”.
The competition was initiated in 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 education sector.
Dr. Mike Okonkwo has continued in this gesture for 18 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. This man of God has used the institutionalization of the Mike Okonkwo national essay competition to achieve this dream and desire.
The essay competition programme has helped some students that participated in the program to develop more interest in research work, reading extensively, and writing constructively.
Apart from serving as a tool to encourage reading and writing, the competition has also given the students the opportunity to bare their minds on topical issues that are significant to the social-economic development of our nation.
Uteh said the essay competition has also contributed to ICT development in secondary schools, especially in government-owned schools. Winners have emerged from both government-owned schools and private schools, and they have always been encouraged with gifts both in-kind and cash.