Peter Bassey|18 February 2016|10:10am
Investment in education is a critical factor for economic growth, improved health and social progress in every facet. Education is a potent instrument of social engineering and serves as a catalyst for all round development beyond question.
When Queen Mary Egorp (MISS MBUBE 2015), expressed her readiness to leverage support for the people of Mbube, during her decoration as Miss Bitchong-Ifife, Mbube 2015, a lot of people believed it was a mere speech making. Queen Mary Egorp, who is currently a third year student of the Department of History and International Studies of University of Calabar, has proven once again, that there lies integrity and royalty in pageantry, by keeping to her promise of organizing for the first time “Miss Mbube Inter-Secondary School Quiz Competition”.
The event which was anchored by Highflyers Forum Nigeria held on the 12th of February 2016 was graced by dignitaries and some parents and saw a total of seven schools in attendance. They include,
*Little Saint Secondary School Odajie,
*Government Science School Egbe,
*Mbe-Aye Comprehensive Secondary School Edide,
*Community Secondary School Idum,
*Mbube West Secondary School Ekumtak,
*Mbube East Secondary School Oboso and
*St. Joseph Orphanage Idum who played host to other schools.
Prior to the contest proper, Queen Egorp in her opening address thanked God Almighty for giving her the enablement to organize such an event. She also thanked her sponsors whom she described as God-sent as well as appreciated all the participating schools for finding time to honour her invitation. According to her, the passion for education and helping young ones achieve their God given goals in life propelled the idea behind the quiz competition. Thus, she described her action as a corporate social responsibility, in a bid to give back to the Mbube nation.
She challenged the secondary school students to study hard and awaken the sleeping giants in them, so they can compete favourably with their contemporaries all over the world. And that the contest was not in any way to test individual intelligence or judge the competence of any school, rather it was a criteria for selection for the scholarship awards vis-à-vis promote academic excellence amongst the Mbube school children.
The quiz competition which has questions ranging from Mathematics, English Language, Current Affairs and other core science subjects was characterized by a stiff contest and later saw Mbe-Aye Comprehensive Secondary School, Edide clinching the first position and Government Science School, Egbe and St. Joseph Orphanage, Idum in second and third position respectively; and master Aben Peter Ejiere from St. Joseph orphanage Idum emerged the overall best quiz boy and carted home with a One Year Scholarship Award.
Textbooks, plagues, certificates of participation, writings materials where amongst consolation prizes dished out during the award presentation.
Main while the event became emotional when the best quiz boy, Master Aben Peter thanked the reigning Queen for her kind gestures and said “I am very happy today because my parents have not been able to pay my WAEC fee till now. So with this scholarship, I can now register and take the final exams alongside my other friends in the same class. God bless you Ma”. In the same vein, Mr. Thomas Edilo Nche, the principal of the host school in his vote of thanks on behalf of the participating schools thanked Queen Egorp for her initiative and encouraged her to keep the flag of Mbube flying. According to him, what is fashionably designed today may be considered unworkable tomorrow. He also used the medium to call on the Mbube elites to please lend their support for Miss Mbube in order to achieve all her planned projects, adding that any society that ignores its youths, risk an endangered society.
Peter Bassey
Writes from Calabar
