Nigerian educator emerges winner of Saudi’s Arabic competition
A Nigerian scholar, Dr. Ahmad Rufa’i, has been declared winner of an international Arabic poetry competition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The competition which was organised by the Islamic Development Bank, (IsDB), was part of the activities marking the World Arabic Language Day celebration at the bank’s headquarters.
Dr. Rufa’i, whose classical poetry was adjudged the best among seven finalists, was presented the first prize by the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Bandar Hajjar.
Two other African nationals, a Mauritanian and Sudanese, clinched the second and third positions respectively.
“Aside Dr. Rufa’i who won the first prize, the other finalists that emerged from a rigorous selection process across multiple stages, were one Saudi, one Yemeni, one Egyptian, two Sudanese, and one Mauritanian,” said Dr. Bandar Hajjar.
The competition was supervised by a committee of experts set up by IDB and was headed by Prof. Ahmad Masluh, a renowned scholar of Arabic Language and Prosody.
A prodigious scholar and education consultant, Dr. Rufa’i was until recently the dean of education at the Sokoto State University in Nigeria. He was for many years a TV presenter, and he has been a regular commentator on public affairs with special interest in international conflict resolution and education pedagogy.
