ABUJA, NIGERIA– The National Emergency Management Firm (NEMA) has actually revealed 30 winners of its 2026 National Essay Competition, recognising students and corps members whose entries focused on disaster danger reduction, environment change and using technology in emergency action.
The winners were unveiled on Thursday at NEMA’s headquarters in Abuja during an acknowledgment ceremony participated in by officials and stakeholders associated with the competitors.
Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, who was represented at the ceremony by the agency’s Director of Internal Audit, Aliyu Waziri, stated the competitors formed part of NEMA’s efforts to strengthen catastrophe awareness, emergency preparedness and strength amongst young Nigerians.
Umar said the effort was designed to motivate youths to establish a deeper understanding of disaster management and their function in structure much safer communities.
She divulged that NEMA got a remarkably high volume of entries from throughout the country, leading to an extension of the evaluation duration.
According to her, the agency prioritised the credibility and integrity of the evaluation process over the speed of revealing the winners.
“We considered it important that speed ought to not take precedence over reliability. Every qualified entry passed through a painstaking evaluation, recognition and corroboration procedure developed to guarantee fairness, transparency and merit,” she stated.
The NEMA Director-General congratulated the winners and other participants, keeping in mind that the research carried out by the young participants had broader value beyond the competitors.
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“Every young adult who investigated Disaster Threat Decrease has become better equipped to contribute to a much safer and more resilient Nigeria,” she stated.
Umar included that emergency situation management need to increasingly enter into everyday preparedness rather than an activity undertaken only after disasters take place.
“Emergency situation management need to increasingly become a culture rather than an activity carried out just when disaster strikes. Through these young voices, we see motivating evidence that a new generation of disaster-conscious Nigerians is emerging,” she said.
Three Categories Address Key Disaster Management Issues
Specialist to the initiative, Hakeem Bello, said the competitors was conceived to enhance emergency preparedness, catastrophe awareness and durability amongst young Nigerians.
He said the a great deal of entries received nationwide made the evaluation process extensive, needing a painstaking and systematic method to screening and ranking the submissions.
Bello applauded the Internal Assessment Panel, Oversight Committee and External Lead Assessor for their roles in ensuring the trustworthiness and transparency of the workout.
He explained that the three essay subjects were established to reflect different elements of NEMA’s required and engage young people at different levels of education and nationwide service.
Secondary school students contended on the subject, “My Role in Disaster Danger Reduction,” while tertiary organization trainees composed on “Climate Change and Disaster Management in Nigeria.”
Members of the NYSC Emergency Situation Management Vanguards, on the other hand, analyzed “Innovation for Disaster Response: Opportunities and Challenges.”
The topics were created to motivate individuals to take a look at disaster management from the perspectives of prevention, climate-related threats and technological innovation in emergency reaction.
Bello stated the competition offered an opportunity for young Nigerians to check out practical approaches to catastrophe threat decrease and emergency management while establishing their research and analytical abilities.
NEMA Stresses Readiness And Shared Obligation
The expert congratulated the winners, who got cash prizes, plaques and certificates, while likewise acknowledging the efforts of finalists and other participants.
He stressed that the significance of the competitors extended beyond the identification and reward of winners, arguing that its more comprehensive objective was to cultivate a generation with higher awareness of catastrophe preparedness.
“The ultimate value of this competitors is not merely in determining winners, but in building a generation that understands that catastrophe management begins before catastrophe strikes with awareness, prevention, preparedness and shared duty,” he said.
The 2026 competition therefore supplied a platform for students and corps members to engage with issues that affect catastrophe readiness and response across Nigeria.
NEMA said the high volume of entries showed growing interest among young Nigerians in disaster danger decrease and related concerns.
The firm’s emphasis on a rigorous assessment process was likewise provided as part of its effort to ensure that recognition was based on benefit and that individuals were examined through a transparent procedure.
With the winners now recognised, NEMA is expected to continue utilizing youth-focused initiatives such as the essay competition to promote catastrophe awareness, preparedness and resilience among young Nigerians.
The company preserved that building a culture of prevention and preparedness stays important to reducing the effect of catastrophes and strengthening community durability throughout the nation.