Lekan Yusuf, Ibadan
A 15-year-old student of Fountain Option Knowledge High School, Idi-Obi, Ido-Eleyele Road, Ibadan, Miss Rahma Abdullahi, has emerged winner of the 2026 spelling bee competition organised by the Twenty-One Five Child Foundation (T1FF).
The competition, held on Wednesday, October 14, at the Institute of African Studies and Cultural Development (IACD) Library, Jericho, Ibadan, featured students from 14 secondary schools to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child.
With the theme, “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights,” the event combined academic excellence with advocacy for girls’ education, empowerment, protection and equal opportunities.
The contestants demonstrated their spelling abilities through three rounds of increasingly challenging words, including accommodation, camouflage, connoisseur, belligerent, grandiloquent, conflagration, effervescent and gubernatorial. Eight schools advanced beyond the first round, while six were eliminated.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of T1FF, Ambassador Tolu Taiwo, said the competition was designed to build girls’ confidence, improve their communication skills and empower them to defend their rights while pursuing their dreams.
Taiwo explained that although the International Day of the Girl Child was globally observed on October 11, the foundation chose October 14 to commemorate the occasion through the spelling bee competition.
She stressed that ending child marriage would enable more girls to remain in school, while investing in their rights would promote access to education, healthcare, leadership opportunities and national development.
“Because a girl who can spell can write her own future. A girl who can speak can defend her rights,” she said.
Taiwo noted that the foundation had adopted different approaches to celebrating and empowering girls over the years, including an essay competition two years ago and an anonymous question-and-answer session last year, during which girls asked questions about their bodies, future and personal concerns, which were addressed by a panel of women leaders.
She said the spelling bee was another opportunity to equip girls with the knowledge, confidence and courage needed to succeed in life.
In her welcome address, T1FF Team Lead, Esther Emmanuel, said the foundation, established in 2023 by Ambassador Taiwo, was committed to preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies, combating sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and creating a safe and protective environment for children and young adults.
Emmanuel disclosed that T1FF had empowered nearly 100 pregnant teenagers across Ibadan South-West, Egbeda, Oluyole and Ibadan North local government areas of Oyo State.
She added that the foundation had also sensitised more than 1,500 students from over 50 secondary schools in Ibadan on issues affecting their welfare, safety and development.
Addressing the participating students, Taiwo urged them not to see winning or losing as the ultimate measure of success, but to recognise their participation as a demonstration of courage and determination.
She reminded the girls of their rights to education, personal safety and a brighter future, encouraging them to reject child marriage and remain focused on their aspirations.
“You have the right to education. You have the right to dream. You have the right to say no to child marriage and yes to your future,” she said.
Taiwo, who also identified herself as a cancer control advocate, used the occasion to remind participants about breast awareness as part of activities marking Pink October, the breast cancer awareness month.
In a goodwill message delivered on behalf of the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mr Taiwo Oladokun called on parents, teachers, community leaders and government institutions to intensify efforts to protect girls against child marriage, teenage pregnancy, abuse, exploitation and discrimination.
Oladokun encouraged the students to read widely, develop good study habits and remain confident, noting that the protection of girls and the advancement of their education required collective responsibility.
He commended T1FF for its interventions and called for more safe learning environments, mentorship programmes, health education and equal opportunities for girls to thrive.
The panel of judges comprised Ronke Giwa-Onafuwa, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Information and Orientation, who served as the lead judge, and Michael Olatunbosun, while Rachel Omonua served as the pronouncer.
The event ended with a renewed call for stakeholders to work together to protect the girl child, expand access to quality education and create opportunities for girls to realise their full potential.
The organisers maintained that empowering girls through education, advocacy and skills development remained essential to building a safer, more inclusive and prosperous society.
