The grand finale of 2024 version of Ile-Ife Reads Academic Competition was held on 4th July, 2024 at Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife with different categories of students participating in different Literature genres in commemoration of the first Nigerian Nobel Laureate, Professor Akinwande Babatunde Oluwole Soyinka popularly known and called Prof. Wole Soyinka on his 90th birthday.
Contestants were screened and shortlisted from both primary and secondary schools while the latter was also categorised into junior and senior classes.
Pupils were tested in essay writing, drama, poetic recital and arts exhibition with certificates attached to the first three positions in all, alongside cash prizes to the tune of N20, 000, N10, 000 and N5, 000 to the first, second and third positions respectively.
The contest which was professionally planned and corporately executed according to our findings, didn’t go without its own critique of alleged compromise and deceit which actually informed this piece by matterMATTERS247.
A report was received through our “Matter Your Matter” platform where any individual can send in his/her matter of concern about any private or public organisation or government parastatal for a media arbitration which should go with thorough investigation and culminate in social justice.
The report which was made by a parent of one of the contestants from Christ Way High School, Ile-Ife on 29th November, 2024 was officially taken up for investigation by matterMATTERS in her traditional and professional manner almost immediately the report was received.
In his report, the parent allegedly accused the organisers of a foul play against some set of students of the aforementioned school with no just cause by withdrawing the certificates which had gloriously been awarded them in the public during the grand finale of the competition ceremony after series of rigorous screenings and presentations.
“I am a parent to one of the affected students from Christ Way High School, Ile-Ife. Though I can’t remember precisely when the screening started but I can still quote accurately the final day of the competition which was 4th July, 2024. Coincidentally, on that Thursday afternoon, maybe by providence, we were having a PTA meeting in the school while we got the news from OAU campus that seven of our children won excellently in different categories of the competition.
“Like I earlier said that maybe by divine arrangement, it was the same day the new Chairman of the School’s Management Board, Prof. Olufemi Koya came to address the parents, so we were all engrossed with the euphoria of the victory together.
“The children and their teachers, Mrs Ajibade Ibukun and Mr Opeisa Bolu, later came at the tail end of the meeting and we all took pictures together. I will share with you some copies of the pictures. Something that was worth rolling drums out to celebrate was now turned to a kind of bereavement and sombre by the uncouth attitude of the organisers as we got to know later that all the certificates shown us were subtly withheld while they were returned to be signed for reasons best known to the organisers. Can you imagine, awarding unsigned certificates in such a corporate competition! One could be tempted to conclude that it was intentional on the part of the organisers to score the evil game eventually played out as the last joker on the final winners.
“Can you imagine a school leading in a competition with clear cut distinction of 1st, 2nd and 3rd in both senior and junior classes to make six winners at a stretch! These six competed in essay writing while the remaining one came out as overall winner in poetic recital. This to me seems unprecedented and should be applauded by the committee of schools, but alas, a kind of politics crawled in and different allegations were being cooked up to defraud these innocent and resilient children of their legitimate right!” The parent lamented angrily.
The contestants and their positions were stated by the reporter (the parent) as follows: Essay writing for junior category – Ogunsemi Eniola (1st); Eluyera Darasimi (2nd) and Adeyemi Victoria (3rd). Essay writing for the Senior category: Adegbaye Eniola (1st); Makun Moromoluwa (2nd) and Okani Gift (3rd). And for the Poetic Recital: Adeyefa Darasimi (1st).
The lead organiser of Ile-Ife Reads Annual Academic Competition, Mrs Bisi Anyadike, was contacted by our correspondent to hear her own side of the story concerning the competition process and the allegations raised by the parent in his report.
After the snippet of the parent’s grievances about the competition had been narrated to the lead organiser, Mrs Anyadike who responsively attended to our correspondent, appreciated the professional approach we brought in to the matter by contacting her before making a final decision on the publication. She later explained in detail her own defence to the allegation.
“The issue has been discussed in detail with the Principal of the College. It was discovered that the candidates of Christ Way High contravened the rules and regulations of the competition by not reading the recommended texts and submitting Essays written largely by their teachers who failed to attend the pre-teachers workshop, which would have likely prevented them from doing such.
“This the children attested to during the orals. It was in error under these circumstances for them to have been announced as winners and presented certificates and the school via the principal was informed immediately.
“However, to avoid public embarrassment of the school and pupils we decided that they would be acknowledged for the effort put in but the second-place winners who actually worked on their own will be recognized as the bona fide winners. This will be done at the end of year formal presentations to be done in December.
“This applies to Essay writing only. There is no contradiction over their poetry and drama winners.” Mrs Anyadike explained.
While fielding questions based on the counter allegation got as a feedback from the lead organiser, the aggrieved parent who reported the case to matterMATTERS didn’t take the alleged contravention issue with levity and actually vented his reservation on the whole matter further.
“This is humorously saddening! I cannot imagine the definition of her term of contravention in the context of this competition. The book “Ake” by Wole Soyinka was recommended for the essay writing contest some weeks prior to the competition with different topics given to different class categories to write on from home. Please underline the phrase, FROM HOME not that they were coming to write in an examination hall under any supervision or invigilation.
“Now, these children were subjected to extra-curricular stress aside their formal school academic studies, researching and consulting here and there. Or what did the organisers expect? I can say this authoritatively because I know how my son was keeping vigil for weeks writing and re-writing scripts on his topic. Even the theses we write at all levels of degrees to the climax of academic achievement of Ph.D is written from home with serious work, research and consultations done by the writers and our certificates are not withdrawn because we consulted and researched to that effect!
“Their scripts were submitted just like others did, after which several other contestants from different schools, including Christ Way, were weeded while these candidates we are talking about were fortunate to be shortlisted among other students from other schools competing from the same class categories. I am not saying that Christ Way school did the shortlisting nor the parents of the students, the organisers did. Now, where is the contravention? That was the second step. Reading of the text, rigorous research and writing being the first step.
“Only the shortlisted candidates were invited for the final ceremony which was the third step whereby these young guys were to present and defend their acclaimed write-ups before a jury of Professors and erudite scholars in the field of English. After rigorous presentations and fielding questions from the authority of the panel of judges, the finalists were picked and recommended for the awards by the jury which the organisers did publicly but revoked clandestinely.
“For crying out loud, what rules have they contravened in this process which the jury couldn’t point out that could have responsible for the withdrawal of their certificates? Or was there any caveat that the organisers reserved the right to upturn whatever the jury might have done against their pre-planned arrangement? Were the contestants served with any rules and regulations guiding the competition while preparing or the organisers were just shifting the goal post after the game had started or even ended? Somebody should answer these questions before I can give in to this broad daylight robbery of these children.
“You would remember I insinuated the other time that awarding unsigned certificates in the first place was intentional on the part of the organisers. How do I mean? It’s like they had their favourite schools or candidates among the contestants who they might have conceded the winning to in advance but disguisedly playing to the gallery with the ceremonious grand finale where the innocent children were rigorously stressed. However, I give it to the professionals on the panel who decided the winners according to their abilities without fair or favour.” The parent recounted.
The Principal was later reached to confirm the alleged contravention of the competition’s rules and regulations by her students as informed by the lead organiser. In her response, the Principal simply told our correspondent that her school was never involved in any shady practice to win the competition and will never do such to win any competition. She said no rules were contravened to the best of her knowledge and she gave the exceptional outstanding of their students in the competition to God and the commitments of their teachers and the students themselves. She said they had called and called the organisers several times on the withdrawn certificates and the cash prizes for their candidates but to no avail.
However, the parent has insisted on justice on behalf of all the affected students of Christ Way High School, Ile-Ife when answering questions on what could settle the matter amicably.
“I think that is not confusing at all, justice is the answer. Let the organisers do the needful by returning duly signed certificates to these children, let them hold the cash prizes if they cannot afford it again. They should save these innocent children from psychological trauma. Or what do you think could be running in the mind or head of children who had once jubilated for winning a trophy upon a hard work and such is later withdrawn? No! Nothing but justice, or else the struggle continues.” The aggrieved parent retorted.
On this note, we made effort to clarify some issues with the organisers again based on the points listed below but there was no response to any as at the time of filing this report.
Were the schools and the students given the rules and regulations ahead of the competitions and can we have the codified content of the rules that were contravened?
If the above is yes, why were the students allowed to participate at all in the final physical interview where they were drilled by panel of erudite English scholars based on the recommended book – “Ake”, to the extent that they scaled through to emerge the winners in serial order of 1st, 2nd and 3rd both in junior and senior classes and the certificates were awarded to that effect before all the certificates were returned when they discovered none was signed?
Not reading the recommended texts or answering the exact questions based on the recommended texts was enough reason to disqualify them. We learnt in our investigation that “Ake” by Wole Soyinka was recommended for the essay which all participants were asked to write on a topic from home to be submitted for scrutiny and final defence on the D-day which all the participants did, with no exception of Christ Way students. Can you clarify their fault or your claim on this, please?
Announcing like 7 or 8 students from the same school winners “in error” speaks volumes on the competence of the anchors of the final contest and somehow suspicious of foul play on the affected candidates and their school by logical reasoning. Please can you clarify how the error occurred to the winning point?
What were the parameters used to measure those who wrote an essay given to be written from home themselves and those who were written for beyond the physical test subjected them to by the panel set up by the organisers and which gave the students the final winning caps? Are you saying that the panel compromised or you didn’t believe their final judgement?
UPDATES LATER!
