Miss Oluwaseyi Ajayi, a fourth-year student of the Department of Economics, University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), has received 10,000 Japanese yen as a study incentive for coming fourth in the 5th Annual Japanese Language Essay Contest for Learners of Japanese from around the World.
Her essay was selected for the prize of 3,962 submissions from 48 countries worldwide. The countries included China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ukraine, Spain, Korea, the United States of America and Egypt. Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, India, Thailand and New Zealand were others.
Ajayi said she intended to use the prize money to buy more resources for studying Japanese, a language she was very passionate about.
The University of Abuja students have participated in the Japanese Language Essay Contest since its fourth edition and have won prizes every year.
Since very few people are learning Japanese in Nigeria, you will probably be criticised and ridiculed at times, but it is important to keep your eyes straight on your goal and move forward step by step. If you continue to do so, there will always be someone who sees it and will open the way for you, so please continue to enjoy studying Japanese, said Mr Morita, her teacher and director of the Japanese Language and Culture Institute, University of Abuja.