By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A student of Grandmates Secondary School, Ago-Okota, Lagos, Miss Adeniyi Adesewa, has won the 2019 edition of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Essay Competition.
Miss Adesewa was honoured at a ceremony held Wednesday, 4 December 2019 at the Civic Centre, Lagos and given a N500,000 scholarship fund for her university education; N500,000 worth of equity investment; and a laptop.
Her emergence as the first-place winner of the 19th edition NSE Essay Competition out of 40,966 applicants across Nigeria got Grandmates Secondary School three desktop computers and a printer.
She was called out to the podium for her prize in the presence of First Lady of Lagos State, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Mrs Funke Omotosho.
The Governor’s wife commended the NSE for the contribution of this initiative to the development of the country and encouraged participants in the competition to stay committed to developing their skills.
At the event, Miss Temiloluwa Oladipo and Master Adeoye Okhaioisevai both of Oritamefa Baptist Model School emerged 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Each of them was presented with a scholarship for university education, equity investment and a laptop, along with desktop computers and a printer for the school.
In addition, the top 3 winners were given the prestigious honour of a Closing Gong Ceremony at the Exchange, while 7 other finalists received laptops in recognition of their good performance.
The special guest of honour, Mr Chuka Eseka, Chief Executive Officer, Vetiva Capital Management Limited and President of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) counselled the students on the need to develop a strong savings and investment culture.
He magnanimously awarded N250,000, N150,000 and N100,000 worth of money market investments to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners respectively on behalf of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) and Vetiva Capital.
Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, in his speech, highlighted the critical role of the capital market in delivering sustainable socio-economic growth and development in Nigeria.
He emphasised the need for innovative solutions to leverage the capital market for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“We need to connect people with products and services that build human and physical capital, as well as bridge infrastructural gaps in Nigeria.
“We have also identified the critical role of millennials in achieving these outcomes evidenced by the overwhelming interest today’s youth have shown in this exercise.
“We were not only delighted by the thousands of entries we received this year – up over 100 percent from last year – but also impressed by the quality of progressive solutions articulated in the submissions, some of which will be presented today,” Mr Onyema added.
In her remarks, Managing Director of the Education Partnership Centre, Mrs Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, advised the students on the need to develop a range of skills to ensure a sustainable future in light of our ever evolving society. She also emphasized education, financial responsibility and integrity as important virtues to imbibe.
The NSE Essay Competition was designed to develop a culture of wealth creation amongst our youth towards Building a Financially Savvy Generation.
Over the last 19 years, the competition has successfully increased awareness and inspired active participation of the youth in Nigeria’s capital market.