A 15-year-old student from Port Harcourt has emerged the winner of the 2025 Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition.
Davina Phillips of Bloombreeds School took the top prize of ₦1 million and a laptop after scoring 75% in the final round. The runner-up, 16-year-old Aniki Emmanuella Onizi of Babcock High School, Ogun State, will receive ₦500,000 and a laptop. At the same time, 15-year-old Maryam Opeyemi Ilyas of Isawo Comprehensive High School, Lagos, placed third with ₦400,000 and a laptop. Each winning school will also be presented with computers, while other finalists are to receive ₦50,000 each.
The prizes will be awarded during the Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture in Lagos on September 4. The competition, established in 2004 by Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, is designed to promote literacy and critical thinking among secondary school students.
Chief examiner Professor Akachi Ezeigbo said only five essays reached the final stage, written under supervised conditions. She raised concerns about plagiarism and misuse of artificial intelligence in some entries but praised the finalists’ originality. Organisers described the contest as a continuing effort to foster research, creativity and social awareness among young Nigerians.
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