A 400 level Student of Faculty of Law at the
University of Lagos (UNILAG) was rewarded with a
new car alongside other unannounced sumptuous
perks as the winner of the 2014 Miss UNILAG pageant.
The reward for the beauty pageant was far cry from the
reward given to the winner of the university debate
competition last month.

On September 10, Olaitan Zainab, a 200 level student of
Political Science who emerged from a rigorous academic
debate competition was handed a sum of N100,000 with a
laptop computer.

The fiery debater, 18, was handed the package of a laptop
and a cash prize of N100,000 by the university Vice
Chancellor, Professor Rahman Bello.

Last year, the winner of the university debate, Ms. Mary
Adegunloye, was given a cash prize of N50,000 with a
laptop computer. Sources familiar with management
organizers told SaharaReporters that the paltry sum of
N50,000 would be repeated this year, but criticisms of
some staff and student leaders on the campus prompted an
increase of N50,000.

In addition, the management was also persuaded to give
runners-up in the debate competition a sum of N50,000
each, although this was not done in the previous year.
Receiving her car and gifts today, Babajide, who emerged
Miss UNILAG, was presented officially by the office of the
Directorate of Student Affairs (DSA).

SaharaReporters could not immediately confirm what the
other perks were, and particularly what the cash reward
was, but the winner told our TV crew in an interview that the
sum is "encouraging".

Reacting to the disparity of gifts made to winners of both
the debate competition and beauty pageant, some students
on the campus said the measly gifts to winners of academic
competitions compared to the sumptuous packages to
winners of beauty pageants will definitely affect the morale
of students in the course of their studies.