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Diamond Bank Plc, a leading commercial bank in Nigeria has said it would continue to invest in the people of Nigeria, particularly children.
Mr. Uzoma Dozie, Executive Director, Lagos and West Businesses of the bank stated this on Tuesday at the unveiling of the theme for this year’s Vision of The Child (VOTC) painting competition solely sponsored by the bank. The competition is one of the highlights of the Lagos Black Heritage Festival (LBHF) which comes up later this year.
Said Mr. Dozie: Our goal as a bank is not only about making profit, we believe that for us to thrive we need to invest in the future and this is our key area of strength.
Describing the programme as unique, Mr. Dozie said the programme which was also sponsored by the bank last year, promises to bring together under one roof “children who are willing to exhibit their artistic talents,” adding that the people of Lagos are set for a display of talents at the competition.
Speaking on the competition, the Executive Secretary of the Vision of The Child (VOTC), Ms. Foluke Michael said this year’s event which is in collaboration with the Ministry of Education would see over 500 pupils from over 2,000 schools across the six education districts compete in the competition.
Though entry for the competition closes on February 8, 2013, the selection process she said would begin on February 16, where 30 finalists would be screened. The finalists would later paint the theme of this year’s VOTC competition before a live crowd and the winner would be announced on March 29, 2013.
Ms. Michael said the competition is open to primary and secondary schools pupils as well as those outside formal school environment whose ages range between the ages of eight and 12 years.
She praised the leadership of the Badagry Local Government Area for picking 50 entry forms, even as she said more schools and councils in the state could sponsor pupils for the competition.
LBHF Ambassador Erelu Abiola Dosumu who read the Festival’s Consultant Prof. Wole Soyinka’s speech said the competition was designed to bring out the best in the Nigerian child.
In his words, “The competition is out to challenge the children’s creativity early in life and provide an outlet for those observations and feelings, for which they sometimes seek the means of expression.”
Erelu Dosumu and Diamond Bank’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs Ayona Trimnell later unveiled the theme of this year’s competition which is, ‘The Thousand and One Faces of Corruption’, which Soyinka said had been deposited at the bank since July 25 last year.
Erelu Dosumu implored the children to use the four weeks before the painting competition to think about the theme and come up with an appropriate painting to interprete the themeDiamond Bank Plc, a leading commercial bank in Nigeria has said it would continue to invest in the people of Nigeria, particularly children.Diamond Bank Plc, a leading commercial bank in Nigeria has said it would continue to invest in the people of Nigeria, particularly children.
