Patrick Okelue, 200L UI Dental Student Emerges Winner of NIMASA’s WMD Essay

By David Adetula

The winners of the 2020 World Maritime Day (WMD) essay competition organized by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have been announced. This time, the First Prize went to Patrick Okelue, a 200 level student of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Ibadan (UI).

Since 2017, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been organizing an annual essay competition to commemorate the World Maritime Day. The theme for the year 2020 was ‘Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet’. NIMASA says “the essay competition is designed to create awareness of the tremendous opportunities in the maritime sector and engender the interest of Nigerian youths to pursue careers in it.”

Beating hundreds of other undergraduate writers who entered for the contest, Patrick who emerged the overall winner could not contain his joy when he was notified that he is one of those to be awarded this year. “I was highly elated. Overwhelmed with joy. I could not contain it. I actually was not expecting something of that sort at that time, because the time the organizers told us we would be contacted was long overdue. At a point, I thought they had awarded their winners privately,” Patrick told the Dentatics Press.

The prize giving ceremony held at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos on Monday and it had only the top three winners invited due to the COVID19 restrictions. In attendance were Mr. Anthony Epelle – a management partner at Samuelson (the consulting firm that handled the essay contest), Mr. Obinna – a representative from NiMASA and Mr. Gift Peterside, another worker with Samuelson. The semi-formal event had the winners take lunch, and the presentation of the award.

The First Prize winner, Patrick walked away with a plaque, a laptop computer and an education grant of N500,000.

The Second Prize went to Samson Eze, a 100 level Medicine and Surgery student of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) was given a plaque, a laptop computer and an education grant of N350,000. Ifedolapo Ojo, a 200 level student of the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ibadan (UI) won the Third Prize and was given a plaque, a laptop computer and an education grant of N250,000. Seven (7) other consolation winners were awarded an education grant of N100,000 each.

In an exclusive interview with the Dentatics Press, the overall winner said he learnt about the “NIMASA essay contest since 2018, after I got to know of a senior colleague, Sir David Adetula bagged the 2nd Prize award in 2017 and Mr. Samuel Tobiloba Samson emerged a prize winner in 2018. I got more interested when a friend of mine, Mr. Inioluwa Joshua emerged the 1st prize winner in the 2019 edition.”

The President of the Unibadan Association of Dental Students (UADS), Olalekan Efunkunle has expressed joy and congratulated the winner, who is a member of the association. In a Press Statement signed by the President and the Public Relations Officer of the association, Fiyinfoluwa Atinmo, “the executive council of UADS, and the entire association by extension, wish to congratulate Mr. Patrick Amaechi of the 200L constituency, on his emergence as the 1st place winner of the 2020 NiMASA World Maritime Day Essay Competition. The association is proud of you, and we hope to see you amassing more laurels.”

The World Maritime Day is celebrated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and by member states globally to focus attention on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security, marine environment, seafarers and other specific aspects of IMO’s work.