AND THE WINNER IS...
200 level student of Lagos State University, Saheed Sunday has emerged the winner of the 2023 ZODML Poetry Challenge for his poem “A Poem About My Mother”. On behalf of the team of judges, Ms Aduke Gomez at the award ceremony highlighted the importance of poetry and the need for poets in the country. According to her, “Poetry is the distillation of emotions. It says in ten lines what will need an entire book to say. Poetry demands vulnerability from the writer. We recognize these and feel honoured to have had these entries.”
(Left to Right) Ifeoma Esiri (Chair, ZODML Board of Trustees), Saheed Sunday (Lagos State University, winner), Professor Cheluchi Onyemelukwe (the special guest that presented the prizes), Chidiebere Nwuguru (Ebonyi State University, 1st runner-up), and Aduke Gomez (one of the three judges).
The other poems making up the top 5 of the 791 entries received are:
“Memory is a Mother to Every Little Beginning” by Chidiebere Nwuguru (24), final-year student studying medical laboratory science at Ebonyi State University
“Is All the Pain of Childbirth Truly Forgotten” by Lenient Amidu (19), second-year student studying Medicine and Surgery at Federal University Lafia, Nasarawa State.
“The Weaver” by Seyi Ojenike (31), postgraduate diploma student studying English Language at Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State.
“Eternal Light; the Endless Force of Motherhood” by Adetola Jerry-Adesewo (18), 200-level student studying English and Literary Studies at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
We congratulate them and wish them the best!
(Left to Right) Lenient Amidu (Federal University, Lafia, 2nd runner-up), Seyi Ojenike (Tai Solarin University of Education, Honourable mention), Ifeoma Esiri (Chair, ZODML Board of Trustees), Saheed Sunday (Lagos State University, winner), Professor Cheluchi Onyemelukwe (the special guest that presented the prizes), Chidiebere Nwuguru (Ebonyi State University, 1st runner-up), Aduke Gomez (one of the three judges) and Adetola Jerry-Adesewo (Federal University, Oye-Ekiti)
