ATINUKE CANCER FOUNDATION COMPETITION: LAGOS EDUCATION DISTRICT II STUDENTS EMERGE WINNERS
Master Bada Abdul Salam of Oriwu Senior Model College, Ikorodu and Miss Adekpe Destiny of Eva Adelaja Girls Senior Secondary School, Bariga have emerged as the overall winner and second runner-up respectively in the 2023 Cancer Awareness competition organised by the Atinuke Cancer Foundation to commemorate the 2023 World Cancer Day.
Congratulating the winners, the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS) of Education District II, Mrs. Anike Adekanye said their success was made possible by the efforts of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu who has improved all sectors, especially the education sector, through his policies and programmes.
She posited that the State Government has introduced various initiatives and provided different platforms for the State students to thrive and excel, just as she commended the strategic piloting of the development of the education sector in Lagos through the T.H.E.M.E.S PLUS agenda of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
The TG/PS explained that “Competitions like the Cancer Awareness Competition are more than just academic pursuits, they are a celebration of unity, resilience and the indomitable human spirit. As students collaborate and engage in friendly rivalry, they create an atmosphere of camaraderie that fosters personal growth, teamwork and lifelong friendships”.
“Each participant becomes an ambassador of change, joining hands with others to build a tapestry of compassion, raising awareness, and eradicating the stigma surrounding cancer”, she added.
Adekanye stated that winning such competitions was a testament to the resilience and consistency of excellence in Education District II. “The students believe within their hearts and minds lies the potential to create a brighter future, where cancer is understood, prevented, and cured”, she further stated.
In her remarks, the Founder and CEO of Atinuke Cancer Foundation, Mrs. Atinuke Lawal Sanusi disclosed that a lot of Nigerians, especially rural dwellers, have limited access to cancer education and care resulting in late diagnosis and treatment.
“Implementing the educational competition designed by the Atinuke Cancer Foundation for Senior Secondary Schools in both rural and urban Nigerian communities would not only promote adolescent knowledge on cancer, it will also reduce the mortality rate of the scourge because the knowledge will remain with these students forever as they grow up”, she stated
The winner of the first position, Bada Abdusalam from Oriwu Senior Model College received #500,000:00 while Adekpe Destiny of Eva Adelaja Senior Girls Secondary School went home with HD Smart Phone at the event held recently at Muson Centre, Oniksn, Lagos.
The competition was keenly contested among participating Senior Secondary Schools in Lagos and Ogun States including Immaculate Heart Comprehensive High School, Maryland; Eva Adelaja Senior Girls Secondary School, Bariga and Oriwu Senior Model College, Ikorodu,
Others are Abeokuta Girls Grammar School, Onikolobo, Abeokuta; Baptist Boys High School, Saje, Abeouka; Macjob Grammar School, Onikolobo Abeouka and Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne.