Caption: From right, Group Managing Director, United Bank for Africa Plc, Oliver Alawuba; winner of the 2025 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition and student of Igando Community Senior High School, Lagos, Ebunoluwa Seth Oluwatimelehin; and Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, during the grand finale of the 2025 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for senior school students in Nigeria held at UBA House, Lagos, on Tuesday.
History was made in Lagos on Tuesday, as 13-year-old Ebunoluwa Seth Oluwatimilehin, of Igando Community Senior High School, Igando, a Lagos suburb, emerged winner of the 15th UBA Foundation National Essay Competition (NEC), becoming the youngest winner in the 15-year history of the competition.
Master Ebunoluwa, an SS2 student, also became the first male winner in over eight years, as female winners have dominated the competition. He went home with the grand prize of N10 million educational grant to be used for his future studies at any African higher institution of his choice.
Expressing his joy, an elated Ebunoluwa, said: “I am incredibly grateful and overwhelmed. This competition has shown me that passion and hard work truly pay off. It has been an amazing journey that has deepened my love for writing and expressing my ideas.”
The second prize went to Njoku-Kelechi Emerald of Christian International High School, Owerri, who received N7.5 million educational grant, while the third prize of N5 million grant was awarded to Bayero Fatima Auwal of Cornerstone Montessori Schools, Gudu, Abuja.
Caption:From left, Group Managing Director, United Bank for Africa, (UBA Plc) Oliver Alawuba; 1st Runner up pf the 2025 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition, and student of Christian International High School, Owerri, Imo State; winner of the competition and student of Igando Community Senior High School, Lagos, Ebunoluwa Seth Oluwatimelehin; and Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, and 2nd Runner up, and student of Cornerstone Montessori Schools, Gudu, Abuja, Bayero Fatima Auwal, during the grand finale of the 2025 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for senior school students in Nigeria held at UBA House, Lagos, on Tuesday.
In addition to the monetary grants for the top three winners, all 12 finalists were awarded brand-new laptops and other educational materials to support their academic pursuits.
The 2025 edition received several thousands of entries with significant participation extending beyond major cities into rural communities across the country.
UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, who commended the Foundation’s 15-year commitment to the initiative, explained the competition’s strategic role in reviving a culture of reading and writing among youth.
UBA, he explained, “encourages diversity. Nobody in UBA will ever be judged based on ethnicity, religion, or culture. We see diversity as a strength. In fact, if you get diversity right in Africa, you have gotten the whole world right.”
Alawuba praised the finalists for exemplifying this principle in their essays and teaching valuable lessons in building a united capacity.
The Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, who expressed profound gratitude to all stakeholders, reiterated the importance of education and how it is pivotal to the future of Africa
“For 15 years, this initiative has been a cornerstone of our commitment to giving back and empowering the youth. We are investing in the academic future of these brilliant minds and, by extension, in the future of our continent. Education remains the most powerful tool to lift our continent, and we are thrilled to see this programme snowballing across Africa,” she stated.
The foundation has a long-standing tradition of philanthropy, with numerous initiatives across Africa aimed at empowering the underprivileged, from educational scholarships and initiatives to healthcare interventions and poverty alleviation programmes.
