Davina, Emmanuella, Maryam emerge winners of Mike Okonkwo Essay Competition

By Adesina Wahab 

Davina Phillips, 15, of Bloombreeds School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Aniki Emmanuella Onizi, 16, of Babcock High School Ilishan Remo, Ogun State and Maryam Opeyemi llyas, 15, of Isawo Comprehensive High School, Ikorodu Lagos, have emerged the overall winners of the 2025 Mike Okonkwo Annual Essay Competition for secondary school students in Nigeria. 

This was contained in a statement by Rev. Tony Samuel on behalf of the organisers.

According to the Chief Examiner, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, Davina moved from fourth position in the first round, to the first in the second round. 

She had scored 70%, in the first round and 80% in the second to secure the tally of 75%. The runner-up, Emmanuella of Babcock High School, with final tally of 68%, had scored 75%, in the first round.

Maryam from Isawo Comprehensive High School came third with 66%, in the final tally but had 71%, in the first round. Prof. Ezeigbo said that after going through the submissions, the best five essays were selected and a second physical round stage of the competition was organised on a different topic to see the extent that the students would confirm their abilities in a more regulated examination environment. 

Said Ezeigbo: “As usual, a substantial number revealed evidence of collaboration with peers and copying from internet, text books and other sources. It was easy to reach this conclusion because the imprints of sources were uncreatively left behind in the bodies of the essays submitted.”

Prof. Ezeigbo further emphasized that “Similarly, we noticed the use of Artificial Intelligence in the generation of much of the content examined. This shows that our students are doing well by consulting sources that have become inevitable in knowledge generation and transmission. However, teachers must let them know how to use material creatively and intelligently for the purposes of verification and validation.

For their achievements, Davina will receive a cheque for N1,000,000 and a laptop for herself, while her school will be awarded a set of computers. Emmanuella, who secured second place, will take home a cheque for N500,000 and a laptop for herself, with her school also receiving a set of computers. 

For placing third in this year’s competition, Maryam will get N400,000 and a laptop for herself, and a computer set for her school. 

The remaining finalists will each receive a consolation prize of N50,000.

For coming tops, Davina, Emmanuella and Maryam and their schools, will be presented with their prizes at the Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture Series at the Civic Center, Victoria Island Lagos, on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

The Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition was launched in 2004 as part of the celebrations commemorating the birthday of the Presiding Bishop of TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo. Beyond the celebration, the competition was established to make a meaningful contribution to the development of the Nigerian educational sector. 

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