Nigerian poet Ibrahim Nureni has won a major prize at the 2025 Haiku International Association (HIA) Contest, earning recognition in the Overseas Category. The award was presented during the 27th HIA Award Ceremony held on December 1, 2025, in Japan.
The ceremony featured a special address by Professor Emeritus Robert Campbell of the University of Tokyo.
This year’s contest attracted more than 400 submissions from poets around the world. The entries were judged by two adjudicators, each of whom selected two prize winners and four honorable mentions.
Nureni’s winning haiku was selected by judge David Burleigh, who awarded the prize jointly to Nureni and Canadian poet Chen-ou Liu.
In his appraisal, Burleigh highlighted the power of Nureni’s work, stating:
“What makes this haiku so outstanding seems to be its opening expression, as it evokes the idea that war is not only waged by the countries directly involved, but also with the support of other countries with their own individual agendas.”
Ibrahim Nureni (he/his) is a Nigerian-born haiku poet, literary critic, book reviewer, and researcher whose work engages with themes of sociocultural identity, politics, environmental change, and medical discourse. His poetry, primarily in the haiku form, has been published in journals such as Cattails, Shamrock, The Heron’s Nest, Acorn, Chrysanthemum, and others.
His haiku have been publicly exhibited in locations including the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Golden Triangle Street in Washington D.C., and Stone Pharmacy in Dartford, UK.
Congratulations Ibrahim Nureni!
