Parents, politicians, traditional rulers, educationists and community leaders gathered in large numbers as the Chief Whip of the 6th Legislative House of Ifelodun LCDA, Hon. Adeola Wasiu Adebayo, sponsored and organised the maiden edition of a spelling competition for pupils and students in Ward C, Ajegunle.
The educational initiative, personally sponsored by Adebayo, attracted more than 400 participants at the preliminary stage and was designed to promote academic excellence, confidence, boldness, public speaking, and healthy competition among young people.
As part of his commitment to encouraging the participants, Adebayo announced exclusively to Lagos Focus News that the total cash prize was N100,000 for the top three contestants, with N50,000 for the overall winner, N30,000 for the second-place winner, and N20,000 for the third-place winner.
Speaking at the event, Adebayo, who represents Ward C, told the contestants that the competition was about more than winning prizes, urging them to see themselves as champions irrespective of the outcome.
“You are all champions, and champions are not only those who win but those who never give up,” he said.
He explained that the competition was conceived as a grassroots educational initiative aimed at taking academic development directly to the children in the community rather than limiting such opportunities to conventional school-based programmes.
According to him, the initiative was deliberately taken to the streets and doorsteps of residents to identify and encourage talented children within the community.
“Ajegunle is talented and we have everything it takes to compete anywhere in the world. We mobilised across the streets because we wanted to bring the competition to the doorsteps of the children,” Adebayo said.
‘It Is an Investment in Our Children’
The sponsor said organising a programme of such magnitude required considerable planning and financial commitment but maintained that investment in children remained worthwhile.
He said the initiative was driven by his longstanding passion for education and community development.
“For me as a person, I have always been passionate about education. Even before becoming a partisan politician, I had been supporting people in my community by buying GCE and JAMB forms for those who genuinely needed them,” he said.
Adebayo said the spelling competition was therefore not an isolated political activity but part of his broader commitment to creating meaningful impact in the community.
He expressed optimism that the programme would continue during his tenure and beyond, stressing the need to change the perception and narrative about Ajegunle.
“Ajegunle is not known for violence or drugs. We can compete anywhere in the world, and we are not second-class citizens as far as this country is concerned,” he declared.
Calls for Annual Programme
Adebayo disclosed that the success of the maiden edition had generated interest among other councillors, with indications that similar competitions could be organised in other wards.
He said the legislators could deliberate on the initiative at a subsequent plenary and possibly recommend its adoption as a regular educational programme of Ifelodun LCDA.
The sponsor explained that the extensive mobilisation for the event lasted for about two months and involved social media publicity, community groups and door-to-door sensitisation.
“Information was circulated for about two months through Facebook, WhatsApp groups and other platforms. Beyond that, we went from street to street, taking the message to the doorsteps of our constituents,” he said.
He added that registration was conducted both through physical mobilisation and an online platform.
Over 400 Contestants Participate
Before the commencement of the competition, the Chief Judge, Taiwo Olusegun, announced the rules to the contestants.
Participants were instructed not to borrow writing materials, communicate with neighbouring contestants or use materials other than those provided by the organisers.
Some contestants were disqualified for violating the rules, while others who arrived late missed the preliminary exercise.
The organisers subsequently introduced activities designed to test the contestants’ confidence, eloquence and vocal ability. The programme also featured interactive activities, including a scavenger hunt, which required participants to perform spontaneous tasks involving members of the audience.
The competition then progressed into a written spelling stage, where contestants were required to identify and underline the correct spellings of selected words.
The contest later moved into the knockout stage involving 30 contestants. Each contestant selected a question number, after which the word was pronounced. At specified stages, contestants were allowed to request a repetition of the pronunciation or ask for the word to be used in a sentence to enable them to spell it correctly.
The competition subsequently entered an accumulative stage, where contestants could request the meaning, usage, and part of speech of a word before attempting to spell it correctly.
Odion Emerges Winner
The final stages produced a keen contest among the remaining contestants.
Five students survived to the penultimate round before Okoli Emmanuel and Salam Rilwan were eliminated, leaving Clifford Precious, Odion Emmanuel and Okorie Emmanuel to battle for the top three positions.
Okorie Emmanuel was subsequently eliminated, securing third place, while Clifford Precious and Odion Emmanuel, both students of 1st D’Eko International School, proceeded to the final rounds to determine the overall winner.
At the end of the keenly contested final, Odion Emmanuel, a JSS2 student of 1st D’EKO Int’l School, emerged as the overall winner, while Clifford Precious, a JSS 3 student, came second, and Okorie Emmanuel, a student of 1st Baptist School, placed third.
The three winners would be honored with the cash prizes announced and sponsored by Hon. Adeola Wasiu Adebayo.
Participants, Stakeholders Commend Sponsor
Precious described the competition as tough but exciting, saying the experience had motivated her to work harder.
Odion, who emerged the overall winner, said although he experienced moments of nervousness during the competition, he was eventually able to regain his confidence.
He expressed appreciation to Adebayo for sponsoring the initiative, describing the experience as worthwhile and promising to build on it.
The Baale of Abulekere Community, Chief Ojora Idreez Oladipupo, commended the initiative, describing it as a programme capable of encouraging children to take their education seriously.
An educationist and proprietor of Retentive Memory Nursery and Primary School, Pastor Augustine Nwagbi, also praised Adebayo for the concept and the commitment required to sponsor such an initiative.
Nwagbi, however, suggested that subsequent editions should consider categorising contestants according to age and school class to create greater balance among participants.
The Deputy Leader of the 6th Legislative Arm of Ifelodun LCDA, Hon. Sarumi Adekola Jide, described the initiative as a “beautiful” programme and congratulated Adebayo for sponsoring it.
He said the competition would encourage children to read and learn more, while urging the participants to remain focused on their education.
Traditional rulers who attended the event included the Baale of Alaba-Oro Community, Chief Ojora Lateef; the Balogun of Alaba-Oro Community, Chief Sikiru Bakare; and the Baale of Abulekere Community, Chief Ojora Idreez.
Other dignitaries included Hon. Ajibola Yusuph Ishola of Ward D, Adeola Adekunle Samsindeen, and Hon. Akeem Olanrewaju Aweda, a former councillor in Ifelodun LCDA.
The successful maiden edition ended with renewed calls for the competition to be sustained and expanded across Ifelodun LCDA, with stakeholders describing the initiative as an investment in the intellectual development, confidence and future of children in the community.
The Hon Chief Whip was honored with a surprise award plaque as an appreciation gesture from the organizers
