SystemSpecs, Africa’s leading financial and human capital technology powerhouse, has announced judges for this year’s edition of the annual National Children’s Day Essay Competition.
The judges include Bayo Adekanmbi, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Transformation Officer; Jumoke Lawoyin, techpreneur and Chief Executive Officer at Lucy.ng; and Emeka Okoye, Chief Semantic Architect and Knowledge Engineer at Cymantiks Nigeria.
Responding to pleas by schools, parents and students, the deadline for the submission of entries into the essay competition has also been extended till April 30th, 2021. The extension would afford schools and students affected by the irregular school terms regime across Nigeria, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, to still participate in the competition.
Themed “Building a more Secure Nigeria using Technology” and in junior as well as senior categories, submissions are only to be made online on the event portal www.systemspecs.com.ng/2021essay, from 10:00 am of April 1 2021 and till 6:00 pm of April 30th 2021. The competition is open to children that school and live in Nigeria who would be no less than 9 years and not older than 16 years by May 26, 2021.
While entries into the junior category are for children between ages 9 and 12 and should not exceed 1,000 words, entries into the senior category are for children between ages 13 and 16 and with a maximum of 1,500 words. Entries must be participants’ original ideas written in English, endorsed by an accredited school official, parent or legal guardian.
Other judges on the evaluation panel this year are Wale Fatade, country commissioning editor at The Conversation; Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr., technology entrepreneur and business coach; Jide Ayegbusi, founder of the tech-led education-focused platform, Edusko; and Funmi Oyatogun, celebrated travel experience creator and environment crusader.
“At SystemSpecs, we are convinced that a strong technology foundation is necessary to reposition Nigeria to compete favourably in the comity of nations and thrive in contemporary times.
“Through our Children’s Day Essay Competition, we seek to stimulate young Nigerians to become more technologically aware and better positioned to creatively apply technology as a natural response to everyday challenges around them,” said ‘Deremi Atanda, an Executive Director at SystemSpecs.
Bayo Adekanmbi, the Chief Transformation Officer of MTN Nigeria, also doubles as the convener of Data Science Nigeria, a non-profit that seeks to build a local AI-led ecosystem that will position Nigeria as a global outsourcing hub for Big Data projects.
A lawyer by training and a tech entrepreneur, Jumoke Lawoyin is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lucy.ng, arguably Nigeria’s largest online gift store. She is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and the University of London.
Emeka Okoye helps governments, private organisations and cities become smarter by using semantic technology to harness their data and information assets for digital transformation.
Other judges on the evaluation panel are financial and tech journalist, Abubakar Idris; media consultant and author, Ayodele Arowosegbe; co-founder of LeedsNG, Dr. Hafis Bello; tech content provider of repute, Ifeoluwa Ogunfuwa; UK-based IT Governance, risk and control advisor, Dewale Otolorin; health law and bioethics enthusiast, Olo Egbokhare; and Chief Communications Consultant at The Comms Avenue, Adedoyin Jaiyesinmi.
It is the duty of the distinguished panel of judges to evaluate and select winning entries for the top prizes in the junior and senior categories of the competition. They have the responsibility of bringing to national consciousness and recommending implementation of the bright ideas espoused by participants from across the country.
SystemSpecs, the organiser of the annual competition, is the 29-year-old software giant known for its innovative payment solution – Remita, payroll and HR solution – HumanManager, and Paylink – an e-commerce platform for SMEs, non-profits, and individuals.
Winners of the 2021 edition of the SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition will be announced on Children’s Day, May 27, 2021.
