13-year-old public school student wins UBA essay contest, gets N10m grant

A 13-year-old secondary school student, Ebunoluwa Seth Oluwatimilehin, on Tuesday made history in Lagos after emerging the overall winner of the 15th UBA Foundation National Essay Competition, becoming the youngest champion since the programme began.

Ebunoluwa, an SS2 student of Igando Community Senior High School in Lagos, also broke an eight-year streak of female dominance to become the first male winner in nearly a decade. He walked away with a N10 million educational grant to fund his tertiary education at any African university of his choice.

In a statement by the foundation, the visibly excited teenager said the victory had strengthened his passion for writing. “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,” he said.

Njoku-Kelechi Emerald of Christian International High School, Owerri, clinched the second-place prize of a N7.5 million educational grant, while the third-place winner, Bayero Fatima Auwal of Cornerstone Montessori Schools, Gudu, Abuja received N5 million.

All 12 finalists were rewarded with brand-new laptops and other learning materials to support their studies.

The 2025 edition attracted several thousand entries, including a notable rise in submissions from rural communities across Nigeria.

UBA Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, praised the foundation’s sustained investment in youth development, noting that the competition had, for 15 years, played a key role in reviving reading and writing culture among young Nigerians.