16-year-old Nigerian girl beats 41 persons to win essay contest in Sokoto

Owuda Winifred, a female student from Holy Family School, has emerged as the star winner of the Book O’Clock essay competition, which was addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The essay contest, organized by Book O’Clock, a literary organization, received 42 entries from 15 schools in Sokoto State. This contest was held to commemorate the organization’s third anniversary and invited secondary school students in Sokoto to write essays on the topic “If the President Could Read Me.”

The primary objective of the essay contest was to provide a platform for students to express their thoughts on issues they would like the new President to prioritize, particularly those affecting Nigerian children.

The contest was open for submissions from May 1 to June 9, 2023. All entries were reviewed and evaluated by a panel consisting of past winners of the Nigeria Prize for Teens Literature, namely Mujahid Ameen Lilo, Pacella Chukwuma-Eke, and Isah Aliyu Chiroma.

The judging criteria included content, expression, organization, and mechanical accuracy, as mentioned in a document made available to gistreel.

During the award ceremony held on Monday, June 26, 2023, three winners were announced after the initial 42 entries were shortlisted to six through an on-the-spot writing exercise.

Owuda Winifred claimed the first-place prize, receiving a cash award of N50,000. Additionally, Obi Treasure from Royal Comprehensive School and Abdulrazak Ummusalma from Blue Crescent School were awarded the second-place and third-place prizes, respectively, with cash awards of N30,000 and N20,000.

Expressing her joy at winning the contest, Winifred said;

“Being the winner of the Book O’clock Anniversary Prize was exciting and remarkable. The competition was an amazing experience. I want to thank everyone who made it a success.”