September 17, 2013 by Sodiq Oyeleke Leave a Comment
An author, Mr. Richard Ajibola, says he introduced essay competition to students in order to encourage creativity.
He stated this on Tuesday in Lagos during his 55th birthday.
Three students emerged as winners in this year’s competition entitled, ‘100 years of amalgamation: The dialectics of Nigeria’s structural imbalance with the contest of dysfunctional federal system.’
A Fine Art student of the University of Benin, Abass Aladi, emerged first; while Effiong Inibehe of the University of Uyo, and a 500-level University of Ibadan student, Rasheed Otegbola, came second and third respectively.
For topping the contest, Aladi took home N100, 000, while Inibehe and Otegbola received N50,000 and N30,000 respectively.
Ajibola explained that the award was to celebrate and encourage creativity, which he said was key to the development of any nation.
He said, “I have realised that in this era, people organise competitions for the purpose of sales or profit; but my motive is completely different.
“I organised the competition to promote knowledge and creativity. It is just to help the growth of Nigerian youths and commemorate my birthday.
“There were five entries among which three of them emerged as the winners. They are receiving the awards today. They are also getting cash remuneration and some copies of my books because of the passion I have for creative writing.”
Ajibola, a founding member of the Civil Liberties Organisation, however, urged the government and other well-meaning Nigerians not to relent in supporting youths.
The students, who commended Ajibola for the initiative, vowed not to relent in their academic pursuit.
Abass said, “Today is a very inspirational day for me. I will forever appreciate anyone who celebrates youth’s creativity. In fact, such people are my role models and their names occupy a place in my history book.”
Effiong said, “As a law student, I have been reading Ajibola’s write-ups and they usually impress me. This is another motivation for me to continue writing and reading. I urge other Nigerians to emulate his kind gesture.”
http://www.punchng.com/education/winners-emerge-in-creative-contest-for-undergraduates/
http://www.punchng.com/education/winners-emerge-in-creative-contest-for-undergraduates/
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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