Francis Mintah Hagan has emerged winner of the maiden edition of YFM’s Brain Bank challenge, walking away with GH¢10,000 and other prizes after a gruelling contest. The ‘Brain Bank’ challenge is a seamless merger between entertainment and knowledge that seeks to test the prowess of contestants when it comes to general knowledge.
The ‘Brain Bank’ is a radio quiz that has been running on the YCE show across the Y Triangle (Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi) for 12 weeks, promoting literacy among the youth in Ghana.
The showdown saw three contestants – Victor Appiah a 24 -year-old from Kumasi, Bernard Tetteh a Civil Servant from Accra, and Francis Mintah Hagan a student from Takoradi – showcasing their knowledge of Ghana, Africa and the world.
Francis Mintah Hagan took the lead in Round 1 ‘Knowing Ghana’ with 20 points, with Bernard Tetteh and Victor Appiah trailing at 5 points each. Round 2, ‘Knowing Africa’, proved to be the stumbling block of the contest, as Victor Appiah had 12 points, Bernard 6 points and Francis still maintained his lead with 23 points.
The last and final round was the ‘World View’, with questions taking contestants and the audience around the world with questions coming from Art, music, science, sports, technology among others. The final round also saw Francis Mintah Hagan from Takoradi maintain his dominance; winning the round and the competition with 33 points – which earned him GH¢10,000, an airline ticket to an African destination of his choice, electrical appliances and shopping vouchers.
Victor Appiah from Kumasi placed second with a score of 12 points and went home with a tablet, shopping vouchers from EPP books among other prizes. The last contestant was Bernard Tetteh from Accra who trailed with 6 points; he won a tablet from Telephonica and shopping vouchers from EPP bookshop among other prizes from sponsors.
The winner, Francis Mintah Hagan, said the day a man stops reading he dies; and he encouraged young people to learn about their culture. “As young people, we have to learn about Ghana, to differentiate us from others.”
Speaking on sidelines of the grande finale, Osei Kufour – the Manager in charge of the Y Triangle said: “The idea about Brain Bank Challenge is to encourage a reading culture in the youth. Congratulations to all the contestants. Let’s not stop learning. I would like to thank our sponsors for their enormous support”.
The quiz mistress was Naa Dzama, host of the Myd Morning Radio Show (MMRS) on Y Kumasi. The Brain Bank is proudly sponsored by Ghana Tourism Authority, Telefonica… Phones and More, Kasapreko 10/10 drinks, and supported by 3G Allied Limited, Sweet Home Kitchen, EPP Books Services, Nurevas and Doughman Foods.
