Omogbolahan Oluwajuwon Samson of Bello Hall Press has emerged as the winner of the 2026 Sunday Oguntola Essay Competition organised by the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan (UCJ’UI).
The result was announced on Saturday, September 19, 2026, during the UCJ Induction and Global Campus Journalism Summit (GCJS) ceremony held at the Large Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan.
Samson emerged as the overall winner with his entry submitted under the theme, “From Viral Trends to National Values: What Does the ‘Olodo’ Debate Reveal About Nigerian Society?”
Akinwunmi Kayode of Law Press and Idowu Deborah of ASSESA Press emerged second and third, respectively.
The winning entries were commended for their originality, clarity and depth of thought in addressing the competition’s theme and its wider implications for Nigerian society.
Presenting the first-place award, Professor B. A. Laninhun, one of UCJ’UI’s staff advisers, congratulated the winners for their performances in the competition.
The UCJ Editor-in-Chief, Mr Emmanuel Utibe, disclosed during the presentation that the winners would receive cash prizes of ₦60,000, ₦50,000 and ₦30,000 for first, second and third place respectively.
Utibe also revealed that efforts would be made to publish the winning essay on the UCJ website, allowing a wider audience to engage with the work.
In their remarks, the winners expressed gratitude for the recognition, with some describing the outcome as a pleasant surprise and a motivation to pursue greater excellence and integrity in journalism.
The Sunday Oguntola Essay Competition is one of UCJUI’s platforms for encouraging critical writing and intellectual engagement among student journalists.
