The UBA Foundation’s National Essay Competition offers Nigerian senior secondary school students educational grants worth up to ₦10 million for the top prize, awarded for handwritten essays on a national unity theme. The 2025 edition closed to submissions on October 17, 2025, and has since concluded, with the winner announced at the grand finale in Lagos in mid-November 2025.
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This was the 15th consecutive year UBA Foundation has run this competition, giving a genuinely reliable annual pattern to plan around for the 16th edition. This guide covers what the competition actually rewards, who qualifies, what judges are specifically looking for based on this year’s feedback, and what to prepare ahead of the next opening.
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About the Competition and This Year’s Result
UBA Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa, and the National Essay Competition sits inside its education pillar alongside environment and economic empowerment work. Now in its 15th year, the competition has become one of the more established annual writing competitions for Nigerian secondary students, and 2025 brought a genuinely significant change: total prize money rose above ₦22.5 million, with the top prize jumping 33% from ₦7.5 million the previous year to ₦10 million — UBA Foundation cited inflation and current economic realities as the reason for the increase, which suggests future editions are likely to track similarly upward rather than staying flat.
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The 2025 winner, 13-year-old Ebunoluwa Seth Oluwatimilehin of Igando Community Senior High School in Lagos, became both the youngest winner in the competition’s history and the first male winner in eight years, breaking a long run of female winners. Notably, one of the competition’s judges, a professor from Usman Dan Fodio University, publicly flagged that despite stronger entries overall this year, many submissions suffered from writing out of context and using informal slang — useful, specific feedback for anyone preparing an entry for the next edition.
UBA Foundation has also confirmed the competition now extends beyond Nigeria into other African countries where the bank operates, including Ghana, Senegal, and Mozambique, though the core competition remains centred on Nigerian senior secondary students.
UBA Foundation National Essay Competition Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | UBA Foundation National Essay Competition |
| Host Country ⇒ | Nigeria |
| Study Level ⇒ | Competitions |
| Benefits ⇒ | ₦10 million (winner), ₦7.5 million (1st runner-up), ₦5 million (2nd runner-up), plus laptops for the top 12 essays |
| Funded by ⇒ | UBA Foundation |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | Nigeria |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | 2025 edition closed October 17, 2025; winner announced mid-November 2025. Based on the confirmed 15-year annual pattern, expect the 16th edition to open around September–October 2026 |
Who Can Enter
The UBA Foundation National Essay Competition (NEC), organised annually by the social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa Plc, evaluates and rewards the writing skills, critical thinking, and intellectual ability of young scholars across Nigeria.
The evaluation panel enforces strict eligibility and technical submission criteria. Entries that fail to meet these baseline rules are disqualified during preliminary administrative screening.
1. Candidate Status & Demographic Qualifications
- Senior Secondary School Enrolment:
- Target Group: Applicants must be currently enrolled as senior secondary school students (SS1, SS2, or SS3) in a recognized public or private secondary school within Nigeria.
- Ineligibility: Junior secondary school students (JS1–JS3), primary school pupils, tertiary institution students, and graduates awaiting admission are strictly ineligible.
- Nationality & Residency:
- Requirement: Must be a citizen of Nigeria.
- Proof: Backed by an official government-issued identification document.
2. Manuscript Writing & Technical Submission Rules
- Mandatory Handwritten Format (No Digital Typing):
- Rule: The essay manuscript must be written entirely by hand using a pen on physical paper.
- Disqualification: Digitally typed, computer-generated, or word-processor documents (e.g., Microsoft Word, PDF text, or AI-generated text) are automatically rejected without review.
- Legibility & Scan Quality:
- Legibility: Handwriting must be clean, neat, and easily readable. Illegible handwriting that hampers grading by the panel of university professors results in immediate disqualification.
- Scan Format: The handwritten manuscript must be scanned clearly (preferably using a mobile scanner app or flatbed scanner) and saved as a high-resolution PDF or JPEG file before uploading to the portal.
- Strict Word Count Limits:
- Limit: The essay must not exceed 750 words.
- Constraint: Manuscripts that fall drastically short or breach the maximum 750-word ceiling risk score deductions or outright exclusion during word-count audits.
3. Mandatory Documentation & Identification Attachments
- Recent Digital Passport Photograph:
- Specification: A clear, full-face, colored passport photograph against a neutral/white background.
- Valid Legal Identity Verification:
- Accepted Documents: High-resolution scan of ONE of the following official documents:
- Birth Certificate (issued by the National Population Commission or an authorized local government authority).
- National Identity Number (NIN) Slip / National ID Card.
- Valid International Passport.
- Accepted Documents: High-resolution scan of ONE of the following official documents:
What Winners Actually Receive
- ₦10 million educational grant for the overall winner, usable at any African university of the recipient’s choice — this figure rose 33% from the previous year’s ₦7.5 million top prize.
- ₦7.5 million for the first runner-up.
- ₦5 million for the second runner-up.
- Laptops and other educational materials, awarded to the writers of the 12 best essays overall, not just the top three — meaning a meaningfully larger pool of students receives some recognition and support beyond the headline cash prizes.
- Grants usable specifically for tuition and academic-related expenses, giving winners real flexibility in how the funding supports their higher education rather than restricting it to one narrow use.
What Judges Are Actually Looking For
Based on direct judge feedback from the 2025 edition, this is worth taking seriously if you’re preparing for the next one: judges specifically flagged that many entries, despite being stronger overall this year, suffered from writing that felt out of context relative to the stated theme, and from the use of informal slang inappropriate to a formal essay competition.
This suggests the competition genuinely rewards students who engage seriously and formally with the specific theme announced each year, rather than submitting generic writing on a loosely related topic. Given how directly this feedback was shared publicly by a judging panel member, it’s a meaningfully useful signal for anyone preparing an entry for the next edition.
Documents to Prepare
- Your handwritten essay, scanned clearly and legibly, within whatever word limit that year’s edition sets.
- A recent, clear passport photograph.
- A scanned copy of your Birth Certificate, National ID, or International Passport.
- Your school details — name, class, and contact information, as required by the application form.
- Any additional documents the official application portal requests for that specific edition.
How to Prepare for the Next Edition
- Watch UBA Foundation’s official website and channels for the 16th edition to open. Based on the confirmed 15-year pattern, expect submissions to open around September and close around mid-October 2026.
- Start engaging seriously with current national and social issues well before the theme is announced, since judges have specifically flagged shallow or off-theme engagement as a weakness in recent entries.
- Practise writing by hand within a strict word count. Since typed submissions aren’t accepted, handwriting clearly and legibly within the word limit is a skill worth practising ahead of time, not something to figure out under deadline pressure.
- Avoid informal language or slang in your draft — this year’s judges called this out directly as a recurring weakness, so treat your essay with the same formality you’d bring to a serious academic submission.
- Prepare your passport photograph and identity document scans in advance, so the administrative side of your application doesn’t become a last-minute scramble.
- Submit through the official UBA Foundation website once the next edition opens, double-checking that your essay scan is fully legible before submitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 2025 UBA National Essay Competition still accepting entries?
No. The 2025 edition’s deadline was October 17, 2025, and the winner was announced at a grand finale in Lagos in mid-November 2025. The next opportunity will be the 16th edition.
When will the next edition open?
Not yet officially announced. Based on the confirmed 15-year pattern, expect submissions to open around September 2026, closing in mid-October.
Can students outside Nigeria enter?
The core competition is for Nigerian senior secondary students. UBA Foundation has confirmed it’s extended the initiative to other African countries where UBA operates, including Ghana, Senegal, and Mozambique, but eligibility for those extensions should be confirmed separately through UBA’s operations in those specific countries.
Does the essay have to be typed or can I write it by hand?
It must be handwritten. Typed submissions are explicitly not accepted — you submit a scanned copy of your own handwriting, and illegible essays are automatically disqualified.
What mistakes should I avoid based on this year’s results?
Judges specifically flagged writing that felt out of context relative to the stated theme, and the use of informal slang, as recurring weaknesses even among stronger entries this year. Staying tightly focused on the announced theme and maintaining formal, serious language throughout are both worth prioritising.
Disclaimer: All competition details, deadlines, and prize values in this post were verified from UBA Foundation’s official announcements and news coverage as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on UBA Foundation’s official website before submitting an entry. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with United Bank for Africa or the UBA Foundation.
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