Okwubi Godwin Adah wins the 2020 Nigerian Students Poetry Prize
Okwubi Godwin Adah is the winner of the 2020 Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP), for his poem, The House That Built Me.
The University of Benin (UNIBEN) undergraduate consequent of his win, was awarded a cash prize of 250,000 Naira at the NSPP ceremony held on Saturday, 22nd of August, 2020 at Virginrose Resorts, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Prize which has now run its 5th year, is an annual award organised by Poets in Nigeria (PIN) to recognize and encourage literacy and poetry among undergraduate students of Nigeria.
Submissions were opened for the 5th edition on the 15th of January, 2020 and participants were asked to write a 30 line poem on any theme of their choice.
When submissions closed on the 31st of March, they had received 540 entries representing 85 Nigerian tertiary institutions. These entries were reviewed and judged by a panel including Dr. Amanze Akpuda, Dr. Santosh Bakaya, Gbenga Adeoba and Naseeba Babale.
“The evaluation process was very sound and fair, where the jury was not aware of the credentials of the poets, hence there was no bias or prior preference.” Dr. Santosh Bakaya commented on the transparency of the selection.
The runners-up of the prize were also awarded at the ceremony. Samson Abanni, undergraduate student of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki and the first runner-up, got a cash prize of 150,000 Naira for his poem, Nonso while Biachi Ndidi, undergraduate student of Benue State University and the second runner-up, was given a cash prize of 100,000 Naira for her poem, We Bear Sadness in our Name.
Certificates and consolation prizes were given to the top 60 entrants, and their poems curated into an anthology named after the prize-winning poem, The House That Built Me.
Started in 2016, NSPP has received over 3000 submissions from over 100 institutions.
Previous winners since its inception include, Noah Oladele, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (2016); Bakre Fadil Adedamola, University of Ibadan (2017); Godstime Tamunofiri Iberiyenari, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Yenagoa (2018) and Ogugua Micah Okoye, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (2019).
Congratulations to them all.
