THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UBA FOUNDATION SPONSORED NATIONAL ESSAY COMPETITION 2026

A Special Report By Mike Cerutti Osagie

The 2026 edition of the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition is not just another school contest, it is a national statement about the power of education, the power of the pen, and the power of the Nigerian youth to think, to reason, and to proffer solutions to the problems facing our country. Now in its 16th consecutive year, the competition has grown from a modest corporate social responsibility idea into one of the biggest and most respected intellectual platforms for senior secondary school students in Nigeria and across Africa. This year alone, over 15,000 entries were received from schools across the country, a figure that shows how deeply the competition has entered the consciousness of students, teachers, parents and school administrators. It is free to enter, open to all, and judged by professors of English, which makes it a true merit-based contest where only hard work, originality and clarity of thought can win.

The significance of the 2026 competition is first seen in its theme, a theme that forced thousands of young Nigerians to confront one of the most urgent issues of our time. The preliminary topic was: “No nation can develop without food security. How can Nigeria deal with this problem?” In a country where food inflation, insecurity on farms, climate change and poor storage have pushed millions into hunger, asking teenagers to think about food security is not an academic exercise, it is nation-building. The students were not asked to memorise, they were asked to analyse, to propose, to imagine a Nigeria where every child can eat, where farmers are safe, where technology, policy and discipline combine to feed a nation of over 200 million people. That is how leaders are made.

The final round raised the intellectual bar even higher, and this is where the true depth of the competition was revealed. The 20 finalists who emerged from the over 15,000 entries were brought to UBA House, Marina, Lagos, for a supervised, physical essay writing exercise on a very sensitive and emotional topic: “Examine how poverty and other social vices contribute to the prevalence of child marriage in Nigeria.” This was not a topic for the faint-hearted. It required courage, empathy, research, moral clarity and an understanding of poverty, culture, gender, law and human rights. That UBA Foundation chose such a topic shows that the competition is not afraid to touch the real wounds of society, and that it trusts young Nigerians to speak truth to power with their pens.

The outcome of the 2026 edition has also made history in a way that will be remembered for a long time. All five top winners are girls, and female students swept the first five positions and secured seven other spots among the 20 finalists. The overall winner is 15-year-old Khaira Ojima Bala of Metro International School, Kubwa, Abuja, an SS3 science student and last-born of her parents, who beat the thousands of participants to emerge champion. She was followed by Unwanabasi Otobong Udom of Topfaith International Secondary School, Akwa Ibom, in second place, Flourish Chibunumona Ndamzi of University of Port Harcourt Women Association International Secondary School in third, Godsfavour Ezekiel Udo of Federal Government Girls’ College, Ikot Obio Itong, Akwa Ibom in fourth, and Uchenna Olivia Anyanwu of Coral Impacts International School, Abuja in fifth. In a society where the girl-child is still fighting for space, this result is a powerful message that when girls are given opportunity, they will not just compete, they will dominate.

The prize structure of 2026 is another reason why this edition is so significant, because UBA Foundation did not just talk about supporting education, it backed it with unprecedented money. The total grants rose to N41 million, an 82 per cent increase from the N22.5 million awarded last year. The winner, Khaira Bala, received a N15 million scholarship grant to study at any university of her choice in Africa, alongside a trophy, a laptop and a certificate of merit, up from N10 million in 2025. The second place winner received N10 million, the third received N7.5 million, and for the first time in the competition’s 16-year history, the fourth and fifth place winners also received scholarship grants of N5 million and N3.5 million respectively. This expansion from three winners to five winners, and from 12 finalists to 20 finalists, shows a deliberate decision to widen access and to reward more excellence.

Speaking at the grand finale, the Group Managing Director / CEO of UBA Plc, Oliver Alawuba, captured the spirit of the competition when he told the finalists: “You were selected from more than 15,000 students, and you earned this place through your hard work, your curiosity and your determination. We do this because we believe in the future of this continent, and the best investment we can make in that future is in our youth.” He added: “This is corporate social responsibility, but it goes beyond that. UBA is more than a bank; it is an institution that plays a great role in the future of Africa. How can we say the future is Africa if our young people are not the ones driving it?” On the increase in the prize money, he explained: “As inflation increases and it becomes more difficult to see a child through school, we have raised the amounts to make sure these students get to school. For us, that is important.” He closed with a charge to the youths: “Keep writing, keep believing, and keep building the Africa of our dream.”

The Managing Director / CEO of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, also spoke with pride about the journey and the future of the competition. She said: “Over 16 editions, we have watched our finalists go on to excel in universities and careers across the world, and that is the impact we set out to achieve.” On the investment, she revealed: “So far we have spent over N3bn on this competition in the past 16 years and increasing the number of winners and the value of the grants means more young people can now pursue a university education without the burden.” On expansion, she declared: “The foundation is working towards extending the competition to 20 African countries to provide more young people with opportunities to develop their intellectual abilities and contribute to addressing societal challenges,” and she assured that “We will keep ensuring that the reach is wider.”

Beyond the top five, the significance of the competition is seen in how it treats every finalist as a winner. All 20 finalists received modern laptops to aid their homework and research, funded UBA accounts with N20,000 each as a token from the Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, certificates, mentorship and further support from the Foundation. For many of these students, coming from schools in Katsina, Kano, Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Awka, Port Harcourt, Imo and Akwa Ibom, this was their first trip to Lagos, their first time sitting in a corporate headquarters, their first time meeting professors, bank executives and journalists. That exposure alone can change a life. It tells a child from a small town that the world is bigger than his village, and that his dream is valid.

The competition is also significant because it is a direct fight against illiteracy, against examination malpractice, and against the growing danger of artificial intelligence replacing original thinking. The judges, all professors of English, revealed that 35 to 40 per cent of submissions displayed characteristics associated with AI-generated content, including repetitive expressions, similar introductions and conclusions, and a lack of personal voice and local examples. By insisting on a supervised final, by rewarding personal voice, local examples and original research, UBA Foundation is teaching a whole generation that technology must assist thinking, not replace it. The winner herself, Khaira, said she frequently stayed up late researching and writing her response, a testimony to discipline over shortcuts.

In conclusion, the significance of the UBA Foundation Sponsored National Essay Competition 2026 cannot be overemphasized. It is a competition that taught 15,000 students about food security, that taught 20 finalists about child marriage and poverty, that crowned five brilliant girls as national champions, that increased its prize pool by 82 per cent, that fought AI cheating, that promoted the girl-child, that expanded across Africa, and that proved once again that Nigeria’s greatest resource is not oil, but the brain of its youth. As Cerutti Media, we salute UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, Oliver Alawuba, the judges, the teachers, the parents, and above all, the students. The pen is still mightier than the sword, and in 2026, UBA Foundation has shown Nigeria and Africa that when you invest in the mind of a child, you invest in the future of a nation.

— Mike Cerutti Osagie, Publisher, Richlist Magazine / The Humanitarian Newspaper

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