UBA Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has commenced the 2025 edition of its annual National Essay Competition (NEC), with winners set to grab over ₦18m in educational grants and consolation prizes.
Now in its 15th consecutive year, the NEC invites senior secondary school students across Nigeria to share their thoughts on the theme: “Nigeria is characterised by diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religions. How can young Nigerians deploy diversity to build a united nation?” Students are required to research thoroughly, get their ideas together, write their essays, and submit the scanned copies of their entries through the digital portal on or before Friday, October 17, 2025
The topic, according to a statement from UBA’s Marina, Lagos Headquarters, has been carefully chosen to encourage participants to put on their thinking caps, as they examine how the country’s diversity can be utilised as a tool for nation-building, unity, and long-term development, while also rekindling the dwindling reading culture amongst the youth.
Over the years, the NEC has become one of the Foundation’s flagship education initiatives, designed to inspire critical thinking, foster a vibrant reading culture, and empower the next generation of leaders to shape the future of the nation through reading and writing.
To also deepen its longstanding commitment to education and youth development, the foundation announced a significant increase in its educational grants, with the first-place winner receiving a university grant of ₦10 million to study at any African university of their choice, This amount represents a rise by 33% compared to the ₦7.5m winning prize last year, while the second-place and third-place winners will be awarded ₦7.5 million and ₦5 million grants, respectively up from ₦5m and ₦3.5m won last year.
The Managing Director/CEO of UBA Foundation, Mrs. Bola Atta, who underscored the significance of the initiative, noted that young minds have a vital role to play in fostering national cohesion, particularly at a time when unity is most needed in the country.
“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. Infact, parents and pupils have come to look forward to the NEC as they keep calling to ask about the commencement,” Atta said
According to her, “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. We believe the young minds of today hold the key to a more harmonious and prosperous Nigeria.”
To be eligible to participate, applicants must be Nigerian senior secondary school students with interested candidates required to complete the online application form, upload a handwritten essay of no more than 750 words on the given topic, attach a recent passport photograph, and provide a valid birth certificate, National ID card, or international passport.
The deadline for submission of entries is Friday, October 17th, 2025, and applications can be accessed and submitted through the Foundation’s official website ubagroup.com/uba-foundation/national-essay-competition/, or by scanning the QR code available on the posters and websites.
The NEC has been rolled out in other African countries where UBA operates, in order to open up the opportunity for more African children to benefit from the educational grants.
UBA Foundation embodies the UBA Group’s CSR objectives and seeks to impact positively societies through several laudable projects and initiatives. Through its Education pillar, the Foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of books to students across Africa under the ‘Read Africa’ initiative aimed at encouraging and promoting the reading culture in African youths. Its National Essay Competition has also afforded the opportunity to hundreds of students to improve their lives through higher education.
