5 Students to Win ₦41.5m as UBA Foundation Opens 2026 Essay Competition

The UBA Foundation has opened entries for the 2026 National Essay Competition, with a total of ₦41.5 million in educational grants and prizes available to the top five winners.

Now in its 16th year, the competition is open to Nigerian senior secondary school students and aims to promote creativity, writing skills and critical thinking while supporting winners with funding for university education.

The first-place winner will receive a ₦15 million university grant, up from ₦10 million in 2025. The second and third-place winners will receive ₦10.5 million and ₦7.5 million respectively, while the fourth and fifth-place winners will receive ₦5 million and ₦3.5 million each.

The grants can be used towards university education at any African university of the winners’ choice. This year also marks the first time that fourth- and fifth-place winners will receive educational grants.

The 2026 competition is focused on Nigeria’s food security challenge. Participants are required to write on the topic: “No nation can develop without food security. How can Nigeria deal with this problem?”

Commenting on the initiative, UBA Foundation Managing Director and CEO, Bola Atta, said the competition continues to provide young Nigerians with an opportunity to contribute their ideas to national development.

“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.”

Eligible students are required to submit a handwritten essay of no more than 750 words through the competition’s digital portal by Friday, October 23, 2026. Applicants must also upload a recent passport photograph and a valid birth certificate, National ID card or international passport.