Onome Amuge
United Bank for Africa’s philanthropic arm, UBA Foundation has launched the 15th edition of its flagship National Essay Competition, offering more than N18 million in educational grants and prizes, as the pan-African lender deepens investment in youth development and literacy.
The 2025 competition, announced on Monday by UBA Foundation, invites senior secondary school students across Nigeria to submit essays on the theme: “Nigeria is characterised by diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religions. How can young Nigerians deploy diversity to build a united nation?” Entries must be handwritten, scanned and uploaded via the digital portal before October 17.
Organisers said the topic was carefully selected to stimulate critical thinking among young Nigerians, encouraging them to reflect on how the country’s cultural and religious diversity could be harnessed for national unity and sustainable development.
This year’s contest comes with a significant financial uplift. The first-prize winner will receive N10 million in university tuition grants (Up by a third from last year’s N7.5 million) to study at any African university of their choice. The second and third-place winners will be awarded N7.5 million and N5 million respectively, compared with N5 million and N3.5 million previously.
Bola Atta, managing director and chief executive of UBA Foundation, said the increased rewards reflected the bank’s long-term commitment to education and the growing prestige of the competition.
“For well over a decade, the National Essay Competition has provided a vital platform for our secondary school students to express their ideas and showcase their intellectual prowess. Parents and pupils have come to look forward to the NEC every year, and this year’s topic is particularly crucial as it tasks them to look at our country’s greatest asset, which is our diversity and devise ways to leverage it for unity, growth, and national development,” Atta said.
Launched in 2011, the National Essay Competition has grown into one of the most prominent educational initiatives run by a private institution in Nigeria. It has attracted tens of thousands of entries since inception and is regarded by educators as a notable platform for students to engage in structured research and writing beyond the classroom.
Application process
To qualify, applicants must be senior secondary school students in Nigeria. Submissions must not exceed 750 words and should be accompanied by a recent passport photograph and proof of identity such as a birth certificate, national ID card or passport. Applications can be made through the UBA Foundation website ubagroup.com/uba-foundation/national-essay-competition/, or by scanning the QR code available on the posters and websites.
A panel of judges, typically comprising academics and writers, will shortlist finalists before a live competition that usually involves oral presentations. Winners are expected to be announced later this year.
According to the Foundation, the essay contest is part of UBA Foundation’s strategy to promote education across Africa. In recent years, the initiative has been extended to other countries where UBA operates, opening up access to students in Ghana, Senegal, Kenya and beyond.
The foundation also runs the Read Africa programme, through which it has distributed hundreds of thousands of books to secondary school students in a bid to reinvigorate reading habits.
UBA Foundation is considered one of the most active corporate social responsibility vehicles in the banking sector, with education forming a core pillar alongside projects in environment, special projects, and economic empowerment. Its parent, UBA Plc, operates in 20 African countries, as well as the UK, France, UAE and the US, positioning itself as a pan-African lender with global reach.
