PositiveNaija

Akpaike (power box) – a portable hydro electric generator by Emeka Nelson Ugwueze and Firewood Saving Stove by Martin Mbamalu have emerged as joint overall winners of the 2017 Ola Ndi Igbo Inventions and Innovations Fair.

The pitch event had “Alignment Gauge and Oil Pump Machine” by Timothy Kogbara as the People’s Choice Award.

The 2017 Ola Ndi Igbo inventions and innovations fair was hosted by South Saharan Social Development Organisation held at the Oakland Amusement Park & Events Centre, Enugu.

Ola ndi igbo is an initiative established by a group of passionate, credible and committed young Igbo professionals. The idea behind this initiative is to honour and celebrate individuals of Igbo descent who have distinguished themselves in their profession on a global stage and therefore deserve to be recognized as its global best.

The 2017 edition, themed: “Revitalizing the can-do Igbo spirit: Showcasing inventions and innovations from the South East,” provided a platform for entrepreneurs, inventors and tech innovators to pitch their ideas and attract financial and mentorship support from the sponsors – Fidelity Bank Plc, MTN Nigeria, Ford Foundation, Ellington Electric, Nigerian Breweries Plc and South East Society of Professionals (SESOP).

25 innovations were pitched at the event to a panel of judges made up of Professor Barth Okolo, former Vice Chancellor University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN); Engr. CN Agulanna, DG/CEO Projects Development Agency (PRODA); Fred ‘CFA’ Agbata, Producer/Presenter Channels Television Tech Trends; Udo Jude Ilo, Head of Nigeria Office, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA); Dr. Jacinta Johnson, Technical Consultant United Nations Development Programme; and Obiora Okolo, Regional Manager Nigerian Breweries.

Delivering the keynote address, former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, admonished Ndi Igbo to make values the bedrock of their attitude.

In her words:

“If we are desirous of revitalizing the can-do Igbo Spirit, we must begin to look away from oil and develop human capacity. A [nation’s] backbone is built on events like this. We must make human development a foundational value.

The values of the people are the bedrock of their attitude. As such, every system is a function of the values that form the underlying structures of her people. If everything is taken away from you, the only thing that will remain is character. Values must never be compromised.”

Other speakers at the event included: Dr. Jahlil Tafawa Balewa, who spoke on “A country united in the progress of its people” and Dr. Jacinta Johnson, “Be inspired to become an innovative leader.”

The 2017 Ola Ndi Igbo inventions and innovations fair witnessed cultural performances from Ikeogu Oke, the winner of 2017 NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature,; Deji Ige, Performance Poet; Amarachi Atama, founder of OJA Cultural Development Initiative; and Udu Bunch Dance Group.

Sheriff Muhammad of Kings College, Lagos is the best speller in Africa after emerging as the champion in the African Spelling Bee 2017.

Sheriff Muhammad who was part of the team of spellers representing Nigeria at the African Spelling Bee 2017 held in South Africa spelt his way through to the 7th round of the contest.

He was followed by another Nigerian, Benebo Nchege of Deeper Life High School Port-Harcourt in a joint 2nd place with Zameer Dada of South Africa.

Both Sheriff and Benebo competed in the Nigeria Spelling Bee and excelled in their respective states and regional competition and went on to be national finalists. Benebo clinched the title of national champion in the national finals held at Nile University, Abuja on the 1st of July [2017].

As part of prizes won in the competition is a full scholarship to Monash South Africa worth $20,000. Monash South Africa is ranked among the Best 100 Universities in the world. Other prizes include promotional items sponsored by MTN, Makro and Planet Fitness.

The African Spelling Bee championship tested the spellers on indigenous languages spoken in Africa as the Round 1 (non-elimination). After which, other rounds followed such as the words from the prescribed reading materials. These included “I am an African” by Thabo Mbeki, “Kingdom of Mapungubwe” and the “Constitutive Act of the African Union”.

Round 3 was made up of words taken from the spellers’ visits to Maropeng and Sterkfontien Caves heritage sites. These words were “fossil fuelled”.

Other rounds included the English words from African Origin, names of African cities, loan words and names of cities around the world.

ALERT: Registration is ongoing for the 2017/2018 Season of Nigeria Spelling Bee. CLICK www.nigeriaspellingbee.com/register to register spellers for your State Qualifier. Winners of this edition will win up to ₦1,000,000 and represent Nigeria at 2018 African Spelling Bee in Kenya.

Grace Gureje Olanrewaju graduates as the 2017 best student from the Nigerian Law School (NLS) winning over fifteen awards for her achievement at the prestigious school.

Students of the Nigerian Law School were called to bar on Tuesday, December 12 and Wednesday, December 13 [2017].

Three Nigerian undergraduate teams have won the Expression Undergraduate Debate Challenge 2017 to commemorate the 2017 International Anti-corruption Day celebrated every December 9.

The Expression Undergraduate Debate Challenge 2017 anchored by Youngsters Foundation Communication Associate with support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and BEN TV, London held at the Banquet Hall of the NAF Event Centre, Abuja.

According to the Executive Director, Youngsters Development Initiatives, Mr. Kingsley Bangwell, the three finalists won ₦500,000, ₦300,000 and ₦200,000 respectively. He announced that the winners are from Team Quota (University of Ibadan), Team Dunamis (University of Ibadan) and Team Roar (University of Jos).

First is Team Quora – Adeyemi Idowu 500 level Law and Thanni Obafemi, 200 level Philosophy.

Second is Team Dunamis – Adesokan Adediran 300 level Law and Nwagbara Izuchukwu Temilade, 300 level Law.

Third is Team Roar – Chinedu Isagbha, 300 level Law and Henry Tabansi, 200 level Political Science.

Mr. Bangwell added that the goal of the project is to raise youth awareness, voice and action against corruption in Nigeria.

In his words:

“Raising a generation that is informed, positively engaged in nation building and projecting a great future is the responsibility of all.

We see the debate as a mutual and strategic platform to further advance these national aspirations, which also align with the spirit of patriotism.”

He said in August 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the European Union released a report stating that about 95 percent of Nigerians are willing to indulge in bribery.

According to Mr. Bangwell:

“Most alarming about the report is the aspect stating that young Nigerians aged 35 to 34 years about 36.4 per cent of the entire population have the highest prevalence of bribery in the country. It is against this backdrop that we are focusing this edition of the Expression Debate on the 2017 Anti-corruption Day.”

The project is designed to be an annual platform that leverages the culture of citizen debate to stimulate and raise youth voices and participation in contemporary national issues.

The Expression Undergraduate Debate Challenge 2017 featured 36 undergraduate teams from different tertiary institutions in Nigeria who emerged from three different auditions in November 2017.

As part of the post-debate activities, the winners conduct step down debate in secondary schools in their communities, as well as promote the ‘I Choose Integrity’ campaign among young citizens.