Nigeria’s youth-friendly brand, 9mobile has announced the winners of the maiden edition of the essay competition on the environment, which the brand sponsors.
The competition, which was open to senior secondary school students in Abuja, was designed to encourage young people to think critically about environmental issues and raise awareness about environmental protection and sustainability.
The essay competition with the theme, ‘How is Overpopulation Becoming a Global Pandemic to the Environment?’ received an overwhelming response from participants from over 60 government secondary schools in Abuja, and after careful review and evaluation, Uchechukwu Chidera Ukwuoma of Government Secondary School, Dutse, Jigawa State emerged in the first place. Emmanuella Chiemeke of Government Secondary School, Kubwa, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) finished second, while in third position was Favour Onyekachi Egwu of Government Secondary School, Kurudu, also in the FCT.
9mobile’s Executive Director of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Abdulrahman Ado, was represented by the PR Lead, Chineze Amanfo. He said: “We would like to appreciate all the participants of the competition for their hard work and efforts and congratulate the winners on their outstanding achievements. We were particularly impressed with the quality of the essays we received. We believe that the competition has succeeded in encouraging young people to think critically about environmental issues. We hope that it has inspired them to take action to protect the planet. We also commend the commitment and support from the FCT Education Secretariat, Abuja”.
The Director of Science, Technology, and Vocational Education at the FCT Education Secretariat, Hajiya Ramatu Habu, represented the Director of Science, Technology, and Innovations. She said: “We want to commend 9mobile for putting together this essay competition which has not only increased the writing skills and creativity of our students but also enhanced their research potential as they were able to go in-depth sourcing for educational materials to effectively defend their argument on the topic. We hope this competition will inspire other students to explore this topic further and contribute to the ongoing conversation”.
First-place winner Ukwuoma ecstatically responded after the announcement, saying: “I want to thank 9mobile and the FCT Secretariat for giving us this opportunity. I think someday I will impact other people’s lives as well. Before this competition, I was not aware of the consequences of overpopulation as a global pandemic, but now I am better enlightened, and I would like to inform others as well”.
The essays were evaluated by a panel of renowned education experts based on originality, clarity of expression, depth of research, and relevance to the competition’s theme. The top 10 winners received prizes and rewards and were recognized for their achievements at the 9mobile office in Abuja.
“9mobile remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote environmental sustainability and will continue to urge young people to be responsible stewards of the environment”, Amanfo said.
