From Kelvin Meluwa, Asaba
The Olu of Warri Kingdom, HRM Ogiame Atuwatse III, has launched the Atuwatse III Annual Inter-Collegiate Quiz and Debate Competition, scheduled for January 2025, with a top prize of N10 million.
This is even as the monarch pledged to cover the WAEC enrolment fees for 100 students from various schools in Warri.
The monarch disclosed this during the inaugural “Future of the Warri Child” event organised by CORA Care Foundation in Warri, Delta State.
Represented by Chief (Engr) Dr Wilson Edun Olley, the Aboludero of Warri, the Olu urged secondary school students in Warri and its environs to prioritise their education to secure a prosperous future, saying, “Don’t let anyone tell you education is a scam. Education is never a scam.”
He said because he was educated, he became an engineer and the first person to build a duplex in his village.
Prince Edema Collins Oritsetimeyin, the Olu’s Sole Representative and Liaison to NNPCL, announced further support by covering the WAEC fees of 25 more students.
He said the initiative is about empowering their youths for a sustainable future, while emphasising the need to revive intellectual activities like quizzes and debates, which have produced notable figures such as the comedian Gordons.
Prince Oritsetimeyin decried the decline of extracurricular activities like the Jet Club, attributing it to the rise in negative behaviours such as drug abuse among youth. “We want to fill that gap with quiz and debate competitions,” he added.
In his remarks, Special Assistant to the Director General of Security Matters and Coordinator of Operation Delta Hawk, Eyemobe Mattu, urged students to acquire vocational skills and shun crime, which he said only offers short-term gains but destroys the future.
Also, MD/CEO of SMOGVILLE Solutions, Segun Manuel, called on the government to provide modern skills training for students, stressing the importance of resilience and commitment to education.
