Diamond Bank PLC, a leading retail bank in Nigeria, has restated its commitment towards the intellectual development of children in the country.
Victor Ezenwoko, Executive Director, Lagos and West Businesses, Diamond Bank PLC, who spoke during the public presentation of the finalists of the 2015 edition of the Vision Of The Child competition, stated that the Bank’s support for the competitive programme was in recognition of the importance of children to the future of the country. Diamond Bank is a sponsor of the Vision Of The Child, which is a live painting and literary arts competition for children, which forms part of activities commemorating the Lagos Black Festival of Arts and Culture.
He said: “Nigeria’s future depends not only on our children but also on the investment we make on them. It is in recognition of this that Diamond Bank supports the Vision Of The Child Competition. As a responsible corporate institution, we will continue to support this initiative because it is our own little contribution towards the wellbeing of the Nigerian Child.”
Ezenwoko further emphasized the need to nurture and develop the intellect of children from an early age. In doing this, he noted, the children will grow up to become intellectually sound adults and in the long term stem the incidence of unemployable adults which is currently a national malaise.
While commending the organizers of the competition, Ezenwoko expressed confidence that the Vision Of The Child competition would afford children the opportunity to reveal their minds.
He added: “This has made it easy for them to write and paint on the challenging theme posed at them annually by Professor Wole Soyinka. This generation will overtake the generation of unemployable graduates produced in the last few years. These children will win laurels from international competitions with adequate preparation that is being given to them through the Vision of a Child project.”
Ayona Trimnell, Head, Corporate Communications, Diamond Bank PLC, said the bank has been consistent in supporting the project because of her belief in the Nigerian child; adding that every Nigerian child is a bundle of potential waiting to be explored.
She noted: “Children in this competition have two areas of arts to show competence in painting and literary arts. Though, the theme could be challenging for adults but children get inspired from all societal happenings and come up with expressions that are ingenious.”
There would be three categories of rewards at the end of the competition: painting, literary arts and a combination of both skills. The combination skills category was introduced in the 2015 edition in recognition of the fact that while some children excel in painting or literary arts, there was also the need to recognize the unique abilities of some children who excel in both areas.
Diamond Bank has collaborated with the Lagos State Government from the inception of the programme. The 60 finalists are drawn from 35 schools in Lagos including public and privately owned institutions. The age bracket for participation is 9 to 12 years.