Education Minister Charges Nigerian Universities to win Zain Africa Challenge Top Laurels
January 29, 2010 by tim
The Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu has charged the Universities representing Nigeria at the 2010 edition of the Zain Africa Challenge to ensure the country maintain its top rating in the continent.
In a goodwill message to the Nigerian delegation to the International Inter-university academic fiesta in Kampala, Uganda, the Minister urged the students to come back home with laurels, adding that the success of the contingent will “boost the academic standing of our Universities, as well as Nigeria’s global image”.
The Nigerian institutions that qualified for the International competition include the University of Ibadan (UI); University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka; University of Abuja; University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) and University of Jos (UNIJOS) emerged tops in the Zain Africa Challenge National Qualifier held in Abuja on January 7th.
In all, 32 Universities drawn from across West, East and Southern Africa will compete for the Zain trophy and the associated Institutional grant for the winning Universities in the International competition.
The Minister said “I forward with patriotic fervour and unimaginable joy, this goodwill message to the Nigerian contingents for this year’s Zain Africa Challenge. One is enthused that, this time around, five Nigerian Universities are participating in the continental competition, now watched by whole world.”
He recalled that Nigeria won the contest at the country’s first participation in the third season of the contest last year– a feat achieved by the University of Ibadan-and congratulated the five Universities for emerging from the National Qualifying Tournament of Zain Africa Challenge 2010.
Dr. Egwu charged the students to be good ambassadors of Nigeria. According to him, “I understand that you will be competition with other University teams from Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia in the academic contest that has become so popular and exciting.
“As you go into the continental contest, you should exhibit all the traits of good ambassadors of Nigeria. Remember that you are representing a country that is not only the Giant of Africa, but also the pride of the continent,” said Egwu.
Specifically, Egwu advised the students to be level-headed, humble and magnanimous, stating that all five Nigerian teams must respect their handlers and always obey the rules of the game as this will not only go a long way in boosting their chances of becoming continental champions but will help lift the image and brand profile of the Nigerian nation.
Zain Africa Challenge is part of Zain’s corporate social responsibility efforts targeting education and represents just an extension of Zain’s corporate commitment to “A Wonderful World” for their customers.
The competition is endorsed by the Ministries of Education in each country along with the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and the National Universities Commission in Nigeria (NUC).
