Thirty poems have been selected for the longlist of the Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize (EOPP) 2025, following a highly competitive submission process that drew entries from poets across Nigeria and beyond.
Founded in 2012, the EOPP promotes Nigerian poetry centered on nation-building, patriotism, and social issues. It pushes poets to tackle governance and spark change, solidifying its role as a platform for literary advocacy.
Longlisted Poems
- We Learned to Speak in the Accent of a Foreign Wind — Excel Chinagorom Michael
- Aurora — C. S. Odili
- On the Road to the Beginning — Umar Yogiza Jr
- Before My Father Loved Me, He Didn’t — Chiwenite Onyekwelu
- Cobwebs — Ayobami Kayode
- Names We Swallowed — Bakare Oluwanifemi Tunmise
- In State — Nkasiobinnaya Sabs-Mbonu
- Where My Name Learns to Walk Without Me — Gospel Okoro
- Mathematics — Ogedengbe Tolulope Impact
- What Survives the Morning — Akindutire Elizabeth Abosede
- An Empire Without Urbanization — S. Abdulwasi’h Olaitan
- No One Told the Walls I Left — Busari Shukura Oyeronke
- The Geography of Forgotten Cities — Awoyemi Olamilekan Israel
- Spectator Ion — Segun Adesina
- What the Road Refuses to Name — Joemario Umana
- The Country Practises Breathing — Aremu Goodness Adejare
- Pedagogue on a Harmattan Trek — Obiọtika Wilfred Toochukwu
- A Poem Made of Sigh — Ojo Blessing
- I Am My Father’s Daughter — Marylin Ezeh
- Wounded Light — Wisdom Adediji
- Harvest of Skulls — Iwuagwu Ikechukwu O.
- Insistence — Gloria Ameh
- Litany to the Small Gods of Departure — Daniel Aôndona
- This Science of Silence — Azeez Odunjo
- A Penny for Your Thoughts — Temiloluwa Olamide Ogunsanya
- The Parliament of Death — Fortune Eleojo Simeon
- Between Two Skies — Rachael Ajisafe
- Central Market — Sarah Adeyemo
- Autopsy of a Deceased Country — Adebola Temitayo Ogunyemi
- Kalakuta — Chinecherem Enujioke
The shortlisted poems will be announced after the next stage of judging. The winners and finalists, who will share a ₦200,000 cash prize, will be revealed on Saturday, February 7, 2026.
Selected works will also be considered for publication in the EOPP 2025 Anthology.
Congratulations to all longlisted poets!
