PIN announces 3 winners for poetry prize

Nathaniel Bivan Poets in Nigeria (PIN) have announced three winners for the 2017 edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP). These include Bakre Fadil, Adedamola, Ajah Henry Ekene and Bona O. Solomon. Bakre Fadil Adedamola is a 400-level student of Philosophy at the University of Ibadan, and clinched the first prize with his poem […]

Nathaniel Bivan

Poets in Nigeria (PIN) have announced three winners for the 2017 edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP). These include Bakre Fadil, Adedamola, Ajah Henry Ekene and Bona O. Solomon.

Bakre Fadil Adedamola is a 400-level student of Philosophy at the University of Ibadan, and clinched the first prize with his poem ‘Mixed History’ while Ajah Henry Ekene, a medical student at the University of Benin who entered his poem ‘Song of Freedom’ emerged second. Bona O. Solomon, a student of Guidance and Counselling at the University of Ibadan won the third prize with her poem ‘Beach Chronicles.’

The prize winners are entitled to a total cash prize of N200,000 and an exclusive feature in the seventh issue of PIN Quarterly Journal and NSPP’s anthology of top 100 poems to be released later in the year.

Professor Akachi Ezeigbo was chair of the judging panel including Denja Abdullahi, Ismail Bala, Kukogho Iruesiri Samson, Bassey Asuquo, Oladele Babajamu, Izuchukwu Okeke and Ceri Naz. They said the winning poems were chosen “not just because of the content but more importantly because they are virtually error-free and make judicious use of imagery, especially as seen in the skilful use of symbols and metaphors.  They are charming poems in every sense of the word and explore serious themes and interesting ideas.”

The contest, which opened for submissions on February 15, 2017, received 725 poems from students drawn from over 100 tertiary institutions in Nigeria and abroad. 

The prize, which was instituted in 2016 to stimulate creativity among Nigerian Undergraduates, has received over 1000 entries since inception, with Noah Oladele (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), Chinelo Nwangwu (University of Ibadan) and Chisom Okafor (University of Nigeria, Nsukka) emerging prize winners of the maiden edition.