Two Nigerian poets, Gospel Chinedu and Abdulrazaq Salihu, have emerged among the top winners of the 11th annual SUSPECT Poetry Contest, a global competition that received 427 entries from 37 countries this year.
The contest, judged by Mandy Moe Pwint Tu, sought poems that explored fables or used the word “fable” in imaginative ways. Chinedu clinched the First Prize (USD 300) for his poem Ode, while Salihu earned the Third Prize (USD 100) for his powerful piece Quantum Entanglement
The judge praised Ode for its emotional depth and imaginative use of directive language, saying:
“I was floored by “Ode”, the way it played with the directive nature of fables (often via their morals). Through direct address to the lost beloved, the speaker’s grief invites us into new realms of imaginative possibility—because what does grief demand if not return? The refrain of “do not” culminates in an invitation: “Come as a little white pigeon / that has found its way home.” Isn’t that all any of us can ask?”
Gospel Chinedu is a Nigerian poet from the Igbo descent. He currently is a final-year student at the College of Health Sciences, Okofia, where he studies Anatomy.
Salihu’s Quantum Entanglement was lauded as “a testament to how distance does not negate trauma,” with the judge saying:
“There’s great power in Quantum Entanglement. It is impossible not to feel a ghost of a hand that reaches “waters away” to clutch at our sleeves: a testament to how distance does not negate trauma and how it’s felt. The speaker’s embodiment of the ache and the anger is palpable, made all the more devastating by their inability to speak of their hurt: “Who do I tell I’m all the dead people I’ve lost.”
An award-winning Nigerian performance poet, Salihu is a member of the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation and a LOATAD Black Atlantic Fellow 2025.
Nigeria recorded 42 entries, the highest from Africa, with additional submissions from Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Cameroon, Liberia, Mauritania, and Morocco. However, Chinedu and Salihu were the only African poets among the final prize winners, reinforcing Nigeria’s growing influence in the global literary scene.
Congratulations, Gospel Chinedu and Abdulrazaq Salihu!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
