By Philomina Attah
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has rewarded winners of its 2026 National Essay Competition, reaffirming its commitment to promoting disaster risk reduction among young Nigerians.
Speaking at the recognition ceremony on Thursday at NEMA headquarters in Abuja, its Director-General, Mrs Zubaida Umar, described the initiative as vital.
Umar said the competition would help promote early emergency preparedness and build a culture of disaster risk reduction and resilience among Nigerians.
She said the high volume of submissions nationwide necessitated an extended and rigorous assessment process to ensure credibility, transparency and fairness.
“Emergency management must increasingly become a culture rather than an activity undertaken only when disaster strikes,” she said.
Umar said the competition showed encouraging evidence that a new generation of disaster-conscious Nigerians was emerging through the ideas presented by participants.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition featured three categories, with first, second and third-place winners receiving N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.
In Category A, titled “My Role in Disaster Risk Reduction,” for senior secondary schools, Orire Fareedah Omolola of Murphy-Tonia Schools, Lagos, emerged first.
Onminye Olive of Faith Academy, Goshen, Abuja, came second, while Isah Zainab Ise of Government Secondary School, Gwarinpa, Abuja, placed third.
In Category B, titled “Climate Change and Disaster Management in Nigeria,” for tertiary institutions, Adelanwa Emmanuel Oluwatosin of the University of Ibadan emerged first.
Memunat Olawore Omobolanle of the Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus, came second, while Aminu Ibrahim Bello of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina, placed third.
In Category C, titled “Technology for Disaster Response: Opportunities and Challenges,” for NYSC Emergency Management Vanguards, Corps member Dabagal Marylyn Mialmoen emerged first.
Abiola Olamide Zion, serving in Adamawa, came second, while Stanley Sunday Iserhienrhien placed third in the category.
In his remarks, Mr Hakeem Bello, consultant to NEMA and Managing Director of Global Citirep Communications Ltd., urged participants to become ambassadors of disaster prevention.
Bello said the competition’s value extended beyond identifying winners to building a generation that understands disaster management begins before disasters occur.
“Let the ideas in your essays become actions in your communities,” he urged the participants.
NEMA directed finalists residing outside Abuja to collect their certificates and prizes from the agency’s zonal directorates nearest to their locations.(NAN)
Edited by Olasunkanmi Onifade/ Rotimi Ijikanmi