3 Nigerians emerge winners of Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest
Three Nigerians, Olowo Qudus Opeyemi, Ude Vivian Chidimma and Abah Abah Oyagaba have emerged the winners of the June/July 2020 edition of the bi-monthly Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest themed: ‘Mother Tongue’.
A Lagos-based spoken word poet Olowo, emerged overall winner for his evocative poem ‘Ode to Mother Tongue’.
“The Tongueless” by Ude while Abah’s took the second position while the “Tongue of Mother” came third.
The winners will be awarded a total of ₦30,000 — ₦15,000, ₦10,000, and ₦5,000 for the first, second and third places respectively.
The other poets in the top 10 of this edition are Jacob Aondonengen, Olaitan Junaid, Peter Columba Itanka, Wale Olaogun, Nnadi Samuel, Goto Emmanuel, Ayobami Kayode Tijani Ah’mad.
The top 20 poems of the June-July edition are published in a chapbook titled ‘An Ode to Mother Tongue’.
Olowo Qudus Opeyemi is a young poet and a spoken word artiste. He is presently a second-year student of Sociology at the Federal University of Ilorin, Kwara State.
He is a member of the Unilorin Elite, a student-writers’ group based in the university.
Ude Vivian Chidinma is a 24-year-old Nigerian poet from Abia State.
Vivian is a graduate of English Language and Literature who loves poetry but writes mostly for her personal consumption. She resides in Imo State.
Abah Oyagaba is a Nigerian poet and English Language/Literature teacher from Benue state.
Abah is a graduate of Benue State University and former President of the university’s students’ Writers’ League. Abah won the BPPC in September 2017.
BPPC is a writing contest aimed at rewarding the under-appreciated talent of young Nigerian poets.
It was instituted in February 2015 in honour of Brigitte Poirson, a French poet and lecturer, editor, who has over the years worked assiduously to promote and support African poetry.
The BPPC is one of Nigeria’s most popular, especially among the younger poets.
