By Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Correspondent Lagos

Africa’s leading financial and human capital technology powerhouse, SystemSpecs has revealed the list of inspiring personalities who will serve as judges in this year’s edition of its annual Children’s Day Essay Competition.

They include MTN Nigeria’s Chief Transformation Officer Bayo Adekanmbi;  techpreneur and Chief Executive Officer at Lucy.ng Jumoke Lawoyin,; and Chief Semantic Architect and Knowledge Engineer at Cymantiks Nigeria, Emeka Okoye.

This disclosure comes as the deadline for the submission of entries into the essay competition was also extended till April 30th, 2021. The extension is in response to requests by schools and students affected by the irregular school terms regime across Nigeria, to enable them participate in the competition.

Meanwhile, other judges appointed to the evaluation panel are accomplished journalist and country commissioning editor at The Conversation Wale Fatade; technology entrepreneur, business coach and returning judge of the competition Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr.,;a social entrepreneur and founder of the tech-led education-focused platform, Edusko Jide Ayegbusi; and celebrated travel experience creator and environment crusader, Funmi Oyatogun.

“At SystemSpecs, we are convinced that a strong technology foundation is necessary to reposition Nigeria to compete favourably in the comity of nations and thrive in contemporary times. Through our Children’s Day Essay Competition, we seek to stimulate young Nigerians to become more technologically aware and better positioned to creatively apply technology as a natural response to everyday challenges around them,” said an Executive Director at SystemSpecs, ‘Deremi Atanda.

Bayo Adekanmbi, the Chief Transformation Officer of MTN Nigeria, also doubles as the convener of Data Science Nigeria, a non-profit that seeks to build a local AI-led ecosystem that will position Nigeria as a global outsourcing hub for Big Data projects.  At MTN, he leads the team that proactively introduces specific measures to help accelerate the company’s business performance and innovations. Before then, he was the firms’ Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer.

A lawyer by training and a tech entrepreneur, Jumoke Lawoyin is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lucy.ng, arguably Nigeria’s largest online gift store. She is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and the University of London. At Lucy.ng, she combines her cherished experiences in procurement, research, business development, management, and critical thinking to drive the day-to-day operations of a business that powers the gift procurement needs of a large number of organisations in corporate Nigeria.

Emeka Okoye is the Chief Semantic Architect and Knowledge Engineer at Cymantiks Nigeria. He helps governments, private organisations and cities become smarter by using semantic technology to harness their data and information assets through contextual data modeling, knowledge representation and ontology engineering to exploit the opportunities possessed by data, AI and analytics for digital transformation.

Other judges on the evaluation panel are from various walks of life including technology, security, law, media, and the arts. They are financial and tech journalist, Abubakar Idris; media consultant and author, Ayodele Arowosegbe; co-founder of LeedsNG, Dr. Hafis Bello; tech content provider of repute and returning judge of the competition, Ifeoluwa Ogunfuwa; UK-based IT Governance, risk and control advisor, Dewale Otolorin; health law and bioethics enthusiast, Olo Egbokhare; and Chief Communications Consultant at The Comms Avenue, Adedoyin Jaiyesinmi.

It is the duty of the distinguished panel of judges to evaluate and select winning entries for the top prizes in the junior and senior categories of the competition. They have the responsibility of bringing to national consciousness and recommending implementation options of the bright ideas espoused by participants from across the country.

SystemSpecs, the organiser of the annual competition, is the 29-year-old software giant known for its innovative payment solution – Remita, payroll and HR solution – HumanManager, and Paylink – an e-commerce platform for SMEs, non-profits, and individuals.

Winners of the 2021 edition of the SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition will be announced on Children’s Day, May 27, 2021.