Chibuzor Victor Obiorah, a Law student at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), has won the sixth edition of the ‘Fisayo Soyombo Inter-University Essay Competition oragnised by the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ), University of Ibadan.
Obiorah emerged winner from a total of 336 entries received from university students across Nigeria that were first pruned by Damilola Ayeni, Editor of EQToday, with the resultant 23 essays passed on to 2023-24 Knight Wallace fellows, US journalist Joshua Sharpe and Ukranian journalist Luliia Mendel.
Olanshile Ogunrinu and Oyibokure Smith, both students of the University of Ibadan, emerged first runner-up and second runner-up. Onwe Chukwuebuka, also from UNN, emerged joint second runner-up.
The first prize winner received a cash prize of N250,000, second prize N150,000, third prize N100,000. All three also have an opportunity to intern at EQToday.
Obiorah, the first prize winner
Speaking after receiving the prize, Obiorah said: “The ‘Fisayo Soyombo essay competition has always been one of my targets. This is probably because I love participating in reputable essay competitions, and knowing that Fisayo Soyombo essay competition normally receives numerous entries from students across the country annually further spurred my interest in participating.
“The topic itself has been an issue bedeviling the country for years, and it gave me the opportunity to lace down my thoughts. The day I was announced as the winner of the competition, I felt so good it was just like winning a Ballon d’Or, because everyone was waiting for the results to be announced, and I emerged as the winner; it’s something of joy and it shows that hard work pays off.
“I thank Fisayo Soyombo for organizing this essay and advise undergraduates to take up the opportunity whenever it presents itself.”
The competition is an endowment of Soyombo, a former UCJ UI president and now the founder of the Exposed.Quest The Quest for X ! (EQToday). An inter-university contest for UCJ was first launched in 2007 by the UCJ executive council presided over by Soyombo. However, in the seven years that followed, the contest held only once, prompting him to resuscitate it in 2015.
In 2015, Omoya Simult, then a 100 level student of UI’s Department of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Clinical Science, won the inaugural edition.
Kunle Adebajo, then a 400 level student of UI’s Faculty of Law, won the second edition in 2016. Kanyinsola Olorunnisola, then a final year student of the Department of Philosophy, UI, won the third edition.
The most recent edition, in 2023, was won by Timileyin Akinmoyeje, another UI student now undergoing his national youth service at EQToday after his essay victory-enabled internship.
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