The Nation Newspaper

Tag: competition

  • Students win at quiz competition

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Biodun Owonikoko, has organised another round of quiz competition for some secondary schools in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State.

    The quiz competition, which was organised in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was held at the Iseyin Local Government Area secretariat, Iseyin.

    Hundreds of students from schools in the four local governments competed for prizes ranging from laptops to mobile phone and cash. The competing local governments were Kajola, Iwajowa, Itesiwaju and Iseyin.

    After a preliminary competition, the best three students in each participating local government were brought to Iseyin for the final competition. They were tested in English language, Mathematics and Current Affairs.

    At the end of the competition, Kajola Local Government Area came first while Iseyin and Itesiwaju came second and third respectively. Kajola and Iseyin teams went home with a laptop each while Itesiwaju team was rewarded with a mobile phone. The remaining nine participants got N5,000 cash each.

    Owonikoko, who is the Baamofin of Oke-Ogun land, explained that “the decision to begin the project in 2010 was borne out of the need to boost the interest of the younger generation in education so that they can strive for excellence. It is my own little way of supporting education development among the indigenes of Oke-Ogun where I come from.

    Represented by Alhaji Waheed Shittu, Owonikoko, a lawyer said reforming education is taxing, pointing out that it requires the support of all stakeholders.

    Emphasising the need to properly plan education, Owonikoko said: “The process of education reforms must match modern scientific and technological innovations for it to remain relevant to the learner and the nation. It also takes years for any meaningful educational reform to yield fruits. Nigeria must learn to plan its education and implement it with commitment and sense of direction for the greater good of all its citizens.”

    Also highlighting the importance of secondary education to the Nigerian society, he said: “Secondary education must be accorded the deserved priority that aims at helping our youths to develop sellable skills and knowledge to continue with their studies. Policy haste in education never gives the desired result.

    “It would be better if policies are made in such a way that changes can be accommodated without disturbing the overall system in operation. Nigerian education system should aspire for manpower training.”

    Also speaking at the event, State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Akin-Moses, who was represented by the Zonal Inspector of Education for Ibarapa, Mrs. Ajose Yewise, praised the initiative of the legal icon. She congratulated the participating schools on being part of a veritable platform towards remodelling their future for the better.

  • Seyi Shay’s ‘Air Brush’ Acapella competition kicks-off

    Seyi Shay’s ‘Air Brush’ Acapella competition kicks-off

    Island Records superstar, Seyi Shay has announced an online competition for her single “Air Brush”; The Air Brush Accapella Competition, to shine light on undiscovered producers and Deejays who look forward to creating music on the highest level.

    According to Seyi Shay, “calling all Deejays and producers, I bring you “The Airbrush Acapella Competition”. Do you think you can create a better backing track or create a remix to my latest single ‘Air Brush’? If so, let me send you the acapella…terms + conditions will follow”.

    As stated by the songstress, aspiring Deejays and Producers now have an opportunity to be involved in the creative process for Seyi Shay’s next hit song; Interested participants are expected to download the acapella version of Seyi Shay’s hit single ‘Air Brush’ on Tooxclusive.com and create their remix version based on their style of music (reggae, soul, house, hip hop e.t.c), follow instructions on the flyer and send their version to the email provided on the platform.

    The best participants will be selected and voted for on the same platform and the winner stands a chance to produce/feature on Seyi Shay’s next song with an A-list artistes and win N100,000, with other goodies from Pepsi and Cloud 9.

    The competition which lasts for three weeks is supported by Tooxclusive, Pepsi and Cloud 9.

  • Winners receive N15m in Zakat competition

    Winners receive N15m in Zakat competition

    Eight persons comprising four males and females have emerged  overall winners in the second edition of Entrepreneurship Development Project (EDP) organised by Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (ZSF).

    Twelve others were given consolation prizes.

    The competition, ZSF said, was meant to reward young people with outstanding business ideas.

    Tagged: Business Plan Competition (BPC), the presentation of prizes and plaques was held at the Westwood Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    According to ZSF Operations Manager Mallam Ahmed Ma’aruf, the initiative is tailored towards empowering youths with business ideas either at conceptual level known as “Idea track” or transitional stage known as “Business Growth”.

    ZSF Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Prince Sulayman Olagunju said the BPC was initiated last year to cushion the effect of economic hardship.

    Olagunju said N15 million was expended on the competition.

    He said: “It is no longer news that the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians and worsened by increase in youth unemployment, Boko Haram insurgency, militancy, kidnapping cum armed robbery and the high cost of living confronting the youths in nation building”

    According to him, “the tree we planted together last year, has grown up favourably and it has started yielding fruits that gave us more impetus to continue this competition despite low sponsorship.

    “The number of participants increased from 128 last year to 165 this year. This increase in number of participants made our consultant and his team to spend more time in screening the participants. The consultant and experts did a marvellous job to produce the winners we are rewarding today.

    “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating all the winners and the finalists present here today. They have indeed performed well and all of them deserved to be commended and rewarded handsomely. However, due to low sponsorships received, we shall be rewarding the winners as follows: the first position in the Growth Track will go home with the sum of N1.5Million, the second – N1 million, the third  – N750,000 and N500,000 for the fourth position. The first, second, third and fourth winners in the Idea Track category will go home with the sum of N1million, N750,000, N500,000 and N250,000 respectively. All the remaining finalists shall go home with consolatory prizes of N100,000 each.”

    Prince Olagunju urged the winners to use the fund judiciously to take your businesses to the next level as a demonstration of competence and confidence repose in them by the team of experts.

    Chairman on the occasion, Ambassador Adamu Babagida Ibrahim said there is no better time to encourage the ZSF noble and lofty project than now.

    Ambassador Ibrahim, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Jaiz Foundation said: “Therefore, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation’s intervention at this auspicious time is a welcome development that should be supported by well-meaning individuals and corporate citizens in order to complement the efforts of government in the delivery of socio economic welfare services to the less privileged youths.

    “I commend the board and management team of ZSF for encouraging the youths to be job creators and not job seekers. The practical steps taken by the foundation is a testimony of its commitment and passion to empower the youths through the window of its entrepreneurship development project code-named Business Plan Competition. You will agree with me that this is another better way to assist the youths as well as contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

    “I am equally filled with joy to know that not only the finalists will be rewarded with prizes and certificates of participation but all the runner-up contestants will also be appreciated financially by the foundations as a way of encouraging them to do better in the years ahead.”

    He implored well to do Muslims and non-Muslims to “support the entrepreneurship initiative so that individually and collectively, we can move the Nigerian project forward.”

  • Stakeholder rewards students at competition

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Biodun Owonikoko, has organised another round of quiz competition for some secondary schools in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State.

    The quiz competition, which was organised in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was held at the Iseyin Local Government Area secretariat, Iseyin.

    Hundreds of students from schools in the four local governments competed for prizes ranging from laptops to mobile phone and cash.

    The competing local governments were Kajola, Iwajowa, Itesiwaju and Iseyin.

    After a preliminary competition, the best three students in each participating local government were brought to Iseyin for the final competition.

    They were tested in English language, Mathematics and Current Affairs.

    At the end of the competition, Kajola Local Government Area came first while Iseyin and Itesiwaju came second and third respectively.

    Kajola and Iseyin teams went home with a laptop each while Itesiwaju team was rewarded with a mobile phone. The remaining nine participants got N5,000 cash each.

    In his remark at the event, Owonikoko, who is the Baamofin of Oke-Ogun land, explained that “the decision to begin the project in 2010 was borne out of the need to boost the interest of the younger generation in education so that they can strive for excellence. It is my own little way of supporting education development among the indigenes of Oke-Ogun where I come from.

    Represented by Alhaji Waheed Shittu, Owonikoko, a lawyer said reforming education is taxing, pointing out that it requires the support of all stakeholders.

    Emphasising the need to properly plan education, Owonikoko said: “The process of education reforms must match modern scientific and technological innovations for it to remain relevant to the learner and the nation. It also takes years for any meaningful educational reform to yield fruits. Nigeria must learn to plan its education and implement it with commitment and sense of direction for the greater good of all its citizens.”

    Also highlighting the importance of secondary education to the Nigerian society, he said: “Secondary education must be accorded the deserved priority that aims at helping our youths to develop sellable skills and knowledge to continue with their studies. Policy haste in education never gives the desired result.

    “It would be better if policies are made in such a way that changes can be accommodated without disturbing the overall system in operation. Nigerian education system should aspire for manpower training.”

    Also speaking at the event, State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Akin-Moses, who was represented by the Zonal Inspector of Education for Ibarapa, Mrs. Ajose Yewise, praised the initiative of the legal icon. She congratulated the participating schools on being part of a veritable platform towards remodelling their future for the better.

  • Stakeholder rewards students at competition

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Biodun Owonikoko has organised another round of quiz competition for some secondary schools in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State.

    The quiz competition, which was organised in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was held at the Iseyin Local Government Area secretariat, Iseyin.

    Hundreds of students from schools in the four local governments competed for prizes ranging from laptops to mobile phone and cash.

    The competing local governments were Kajola, Iwajowa, Itesiwaju and Iseyin.

    After a preliminary competition, the best three students in each participating local government were brought to Iseyin for the final competition.

    They were tested in English language, Mathematics and Current Affairs.

    At the end of the competition, Kajola Local Government Area came first while Iseyin and Itesiwaju came second and third respectively.

    Kajola and Iseyin teams went home with a laptop each while Itesiwaju team was rewarded with a mobile phone. The remaining nine participants got N5,000 cash each.

    In his remark at the event, Owonikoko, who is the Baamofin of Oke-Ogun land, explained that “the decision to begin the project in 2010 was borne out of the need to boost the interest of the younger generation in education so that they can strive for excellence. It is my own little way of supporting education development among the indigenes of Oke-Ogun where I come from.

    Represented by Alhaji Waheed Shittu, Owonikoko, a lawyer said reforming education is taxing, pointing out that it requires the support of all stakeholders.

    Emphasising the need to properly plan education, Owonikoko said: “The process of education reforms must match modern scientific and technological innovations for it to remain relevant to the learner and the nation. It also takes years for any meaningful educational reform to yield fruits. Nigeria must learn to plan its education and implement it with commitment and sense of direction for the greater good of all its citizens.”

    Also highlighting the importance of secondary education to the Nigerian society, he said: “Secondary education must be accorded the deserved priority that aims at helping our youths to develop sellable skills and knowledge to continue with their studies. Policy haste in education never gives the desired result.

    “It would be better if policies are made in such a way that changes can be accommodated without disturbing the overall system in operation. Nigerian education system should aspire for manpower training.”

    Also speaking at the event, State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Akin-Moses, who was represented by the Zonal Inspector of Education for Ibarapa, Mrs. Ajose Yewise, praised the initiative of the legal icon. She congratulated the participating schools on being part of a veritable platform towards remodelling their future for the better.

  • Rangers’ Bonsu praises competition in the NPFL

    Rangers’ Bonsu praises competition in the NPFL

    Enugu Rangers’ goalkeeper, Nana Bonsu has been impressed with the quality of play and organisation in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

    “First I will say the Nigerian league is very interesting and tough, the competition in the NPFL is very high. I don’t think the Ghana league is near what we have here in Nigeria. Every player gives their best in every game which makes you to do something special to win a game. If you aren’t ready to work hard then you may not survive in the NPFL,” Bonsu told Goal.

    “I played in seven matches in the first half of the league and I’ve kept in five games in the second round. My coaches at Enugu Rangers have helped me improve and the only way to repay their confidence in me is to consistently deliver. I’m enjoying the competition here and I’ll remain focused.

    “I’ve told a couple of my friends in the Ghana national team who ask me about the NPFL that it’s a very good league compared to other leagues in Africa but to survive here you must be mentally and physically strong.”

    The former Ghana U-17 and U-20 star joined the Flying Antelopes at the start of the season and he has notched up 12 appearances so far.

  • FIRST COMMUNITY SENIOR GRAMMAR SCHOOL WINS FDC DANCE COMPETITION

    FIRST Community Senior Grammar School has won the maiden edition of the Forward Dance Championship (FDC) which held at Teslim Balogun Sports Hall, Lagos recently, beating other schools like Onitolo Senior Secondary School, Aguda Senior Grammar School, Surulere Senior Secondary School, Gbaja Boys High School among others.

    Hosted by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and supported by the Ministry of Education, the Forward Dance championship had government secondary schools across Lagos state in participation.

    According to the organiser, Mr. Bimbo Obafunwa, who is also the founder of  The Dance Deal Training Foundation (TDDTF), ‘it is basically to spread the gospel of dance. We’ve realised that dance education can be very helpful to the central development of the average young individual around the world. So in our small circle for the last seven years I have been training professional dancers to embrace the art of dance and take it to a professional level.’

    On why the competition was taken to secondary schools and not universities, Obafunwa said; ‘I am a victim of what you see here today. I studied micro-biology in the university and by the time I got to the end I discovered that it was not something I wanted to do but I have always loved art but I didn’t discover in time that’s why we decided to start the competition at a level where students can begin to make up their minds on what they want to do.’

    The winning school got N300,000 which the organiser will be used to build a standard dance studio in their school that can also be used for all performing arts programmes in the school, while the first and second runners up went away with  N200,000 and N100,000 respectively

    The panel of judges include traditional dance veteran, Sir Victor Ofulu, Latin choreographer, Lilian Yeri, dance director for Project Fame, Loveth Otegbola, and head of spirit of David Segun Lawal.

  • NECA seeks passage of competition law

    NECA seeks passage of competition law

    The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has urged lawmakers to give Nigeria a competition law before the end of this year.

    Speaking at a ‘Walk for Competition Bill’ in Lagos, NECA Director-General Mr. Segun Oshinowo said there was nothing to cheer despite the bill passing second reading in the House of Representatives. According to him, there is nothing to cheer, because previous attempts to pass the bill even passed this stage before they were abandoned.

    “We, therefore, urge the lawmakers to match words with action and give Nigeria a competition law before the end of this year. We also call on the Federal Government to revisit the Draft Competition and Consumer Protection Policy Document and approve it as a matter of urgency.

    “It is this policy that sets out the goal of promoting competition in the economy. We further call on the Federal Government to mainstream competition in broader areas of economic development such as trade and industrial policy, investment policy, privatisation and deregulation policy, among others”  he said.

    Oshinowo noted that with the ongoing reforms in the economy and the privatisation and liberalisation programmes that have been pursued over the past few years, it is important that these programmes are supported with the appropriate regulatory measures and laws to ensure that they deliver real benefits to the citizens.

    In a related event, NECA has condemned the planned picketing of selected banks by the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees.

    The employers’ association, in a statement, alleged that the union was being emboldened by the directive of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on the sacking in the banking sector.

    NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, pointed out that the labour law recognised the right of employers to determine their operational policies without approval from the ministry, while respecting the provision of Section 20 of the Labour Act, where and if a labour union existed in the organisation.

    He assured that any employer carrying out retrenchment would meet with the appropriate body in the workplace, including the union where one existed, and would pay redundancy benefits to affected employees.

    According to him, the right to strike or picket is not an opportunity for impunity and criminality.

    “It is most unfortunate that the minister’s comment has been fuelling impunity and gross abuse of rules and principles of industrial relations in Nigeria. The law about dispute settlement is clear in Nigeria. If the union has any issue with the action of the employer, its recourse should be the industrial court rather than take laws in its own hands.

    “We expect the minister to caution the union and urge it to follow due process in seeking justice for its cause. In exercising its right to picket, the union should realise that such an action should not impinge on the right of the enterprise to conduct its business,” he said.

  • UBA sponsors cultural competition

    The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is bringing over 30 primary and secondary schools together to compete in dance, music, theatre and drama in Abuja and Lagos on May 18 and 26.

    The annual FCT Inter-school Performing Arts Competition (FIPAC) is holding in Lagos for the first time and is aimed at promoting performing arts and extracurricular activities in Nigerian schools.

    Judges from renowned cultural organisations will select 12 winning schools in both cities. Renowned actor and theatrical star, Gideon Okeke is a guest judge.

    Winners will get up to N2,000,000 in cash prizes, trophies and much more.

    Speaking on UBA’s involvement in bankrolling the competition through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, Charles Aigbe, Divisional Head, Marketing and Corporate Relations, UBA Plc, said the bank is happy to identify with the competition because of its unique value of promoting Nigerian cultural heritage and artistry.

    “We take unique pride in being an African bank and promoting everything that is unique about the continent. FIPAC is set to promote our unique cultural heritage to primary and secondary school pupils. This goes a long way in ensuring our children build their sense of cultural identity and heritage which becomes part of their unique identity as adults,” he said.

     

  • Mike Okonkwo invites entries for essay competition

    This year’s Children’s Day on May 27 is the deadline for secondary school pupils nationwide to submit entries for the 13th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition.

    They are to write 2,000 words on the topic: “The state of the Nigerian nation: Redefining our values”.

    Winners of the competition will be unveiled during the 17th Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, scheduled to hold September 1, 2016 at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

    The competition and the lecture are part of activities held yearly to mark the birthday of Bishop Okonkwo, who turns 71 this year.

    The cleric initiated the lecture series in 2000 to contribute his quota to national development; and the competition to horn the writing skills of secondary school pupils as well as groom them as solutions providers to challenges facing the country.

    The overall best essayist will get a cash prize of N100,000, laptop, trophy and plaque, as well as three desktop computers and a printer for the school.  The second placed will get N75,000 and a plaque, and two computers and a printer for the school; while the third placed winner will be rewarded with N50,000 and a plaque and one computer for the school.

    Past topics of the competition, which are also the same as the lecture, include: “Securing the Nigerian future: Improving the standards of education (2004)”; “Building leaders for tomorrow: A collective responsibility (2005)”; “Lawlessness and the rule of law in the Nigerian society” (2006); “Political office and governance: For gain or service?” (2007); “The role of judiciary in sustenance of democracy” (2008); “Global economic trend: The alternatives for Nigeria” (2009); and “Nigeria at 50: Its leadership, development and the future” (2010).

    Others are: “Survival of Nigerian state: Political and economic implications” (2011); “Dependence of Nigeria economy on crude oil any alternatives?” (2012); “Overcoming the Nigerian security challenges: A panacea for national growth and development” (2013); “The Power of Your Vote: A catalyst for a stable and united Nigeria” (2014); and “The Nigerian Political Class and the Citizens Quest for Good Governance” (2015).