Eliongema, Castro win big at 2nd Fireflies Prizes for prose, poetry competition

 

The art community converged in Lagos on Saturday 26th October for the 2nd edition of the Late Dr. Sesan Ajayi Fireflies Prizes for Prose and Poetry.

Held at the Business Club Alausa Ikeja in honour of the late Literary Icon and Poet, Dr. Sesan Ajayi, top winners of the Prizes were Eliongema Udofia of the University of Uyo who took home the first prize in Poetry with a cash award of N100,000, and Castro Ailele Osemwingie who won the first prize for the Prose category and also went home with a cash prize of N100,000.

Runners-up included Miss Ayodele Oluwayemisi Elizabeth who took the second position in Prose while Sofia Damilola Ojikutu took the third position with cash prizes of N50,000 and N30,000 respectively.

In the poetry category, Messrs Agboola Tariq Adebola and Michael Emerald Oladosu went home with the second and third prizes respectively.

In his keynote address, renowned analyst and poet, Mr. Ayo Baje, spoke eloquently about the search for meaning for young writers and enjoined the winners to keep the fire burning.

He attributed the theme of the event which was “The Empty Nest: Nostalgic Contemplations” to mean the rebirth of a nation in the throes of crisis, and urged the young laureates to stay focused and hone their craft to greater heights.

A poet Laureate, Mr. Olumide Akinwumi-Oke, spoke about Sesan Ajayi and the legacy he left behind at the Olabisi Onabanjo University and in the hearts of his admirers. He told his audience that even though he read Law at the University, he often found himself gravitating towards the arts department because of the influence of Sesan Ajayi.

Akinwumi-Oke congratulated the winners and promised that an anthology of their works would be published later.

A Tetfund Research Fellow and one of the judges, Mr. Osinach Ezema, spoke about the need for originality in the creative works of contestants, noting that from more than a hundred entries submitted for the competition, a lot of them were disqualified for relying solely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) instead of using their natural abilities. He commended the shortlisted candidates for staying true to the rules of the competition.

Other judges included Professor Jendele Hungbo, currently Professor of Comparative Media Studies & Dean, Faculty of Arts, Management and Social Sciences the Kola Daisi University; and Professor Senayon Olaoluwa, a Professor of Diaspora and Transnational Studies & Director, TETFund Centre for Excellence, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

Chairman of the Planning Committee, Olaniyi Akingbogun, who was in London and spoke via Zoom, said he was delighted that the second edition of the competition was fierce and ended well.

Also speaking via Zoom, Professor Josephine Alexander, a colleague of Dr. Sesan Ajayi, sent her goodwill message from Botwana. She noted that Sesan Ajayi was dedicated and committed to scholarship, adding that, “He lives in all of us.”

She announced that even though Sesan Ajayi died at the young age of 34, his PhD was awarded posthumously.

Poems and Prose were read by the contestants and authors at the event such as Dr. Niyi Adebanjo and a poet, Halima Abdullazeez, to the delight of the audience.

Speaker after speaker eulogised the man, Dr Sesan Ajayi, and what he stood for while he was alive.

Widely regarded as phenomenal, Ajayi nurtured a generation of art enthusiasts who came together to put up the FireFlies competition in his honour.

In his remarks, Dr. Niyi Adebanjo urged the organizers to think of making the grand prize around N250,000 and to consider moving to the OOU campus for the 3rd edition to rekindle the interest of many more people and enthusiasts at the University.

Speaking from the US via Zoom, Dr. Julius Ajayi, a sibling of the Late poet, thanked the organisers of the FireFlies competition for putting the memory of his late brother on the spotlight and promised to continue to support the engagement in whatever way possible.

Other published authors who graced the occasion were a poet, Halima Abdullazeez, the Vice Chairperson of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Lagos Chapter, Solape Adeyemi and Dr. Dele Sonubi who acted Kurunmi in the celebrated drama year’s ago.

The contestants were later presented with plaques and their prizes.

Corporate sponsors of the event included Araoko Foods, ACE (UK), 923 Media and Justrite.

Members of the Planning Committee for the 2024 edition of Writers Workshop 2.0 Fireflies competition were Olaniyi Akingbogun (Chairman), Sola Adesanwo (Secretary), Lola Olakunrin-Ogan (Finance) and Mr. Agboola Kadiri.