Chukwu David 
…program aims to deepen knowledge on democracy- Prof. Sulaiman
The Enitona High School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday, won the 2024 National Quiz Competition, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), at its permanent site in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
This was as the Director General of the Institute, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, pointed out that the competition was designed to stimulate the interest of young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the Legislature and Democracy.
The Enitona High School, Port Harcourt, won the tournament, after it scored 70 points to beat five other zones, particularly the North Central that came second with 65 points and the South East that came third with 55 points.
Recall that the South East was the champion in the 2023 edition of the competition. However, the zone, which was represented this year by the Bishop Otubelu Juniorate Secondary School, Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, came third this year, thereby losing the trophy to their South South counterpart.
The North Central zone, which came second, was represented at the National Quiz competition by the School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada, FCT, Abuja.
Other participants are: Vetland Senior Grammar School, Ifako Ijaiye, Lagos State, South West Nigeria, which scored 30 points; Helena Heritage Academy, Jalingo, Taraba State, North East, which also scored 30 points, and Jigawa Academy for the Gifted, Bamaina, in the North West Nigeria.
While Jigawa Academy crashed out of the contest in the first round, the Vetland Senior Grammar School, Ifako Ijaiye and Helena Heritage, Jalingo, scored 30 points each and lost out of the quiz competition in the second round.
In his speech after the contest, Prof. Sulaiman stressed on the need to properly educate the female children, disclosing that only female students participated in the 2023 competition and did very well.
He assured that the three students from the Enitona High School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who won the 2024 contest would be trained by the NILDS from first year to their final year in the Universities of their choice.
The Director General also commended all the students that participated for their impressive performance, noting that they answered some questions which some of the well educated Nigerians could not correctly answer about democracy and the Legislature, if faced with such mental test.
Sulaiman also commended the leadership of the National Assembly, for the massive support being given to the NILDS to succeed, saying: “the tremendous support we have been receiving from the leadership of the National Assembly is indeed remarkable, without which very little of our programmes and activities can be achieved.”
Speaking on the aim of the National Quiz Competition, the former university teacher said: “The broad objective of this competition therefore, is to provide continued education on the legislature and broaden the knowledge of students and youths on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance in Nigeria.
“The competition is also targeted at stimulating the interest of young students in politics and making them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.
“Democratic participation is a fundamental pillar of our governance system and it should be inclusive of children and young people.
“One way of engaging our children very early in their development is through civic education which is an important and effective tool that facilitates the participation of citizens in democratic and development processes.”
