YEMI Akande has emerged as the overall winner of the fifth edition of the Beeta playwright competition.
Akande won with his play entitled ‘The Mask We Wear’. He emerged winner at the grand finale event, held on Friday, November 18, 2022, at the Agip hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos.
Akande, who beat ten other finalists, was awarded N1.5 million, a publishing deal, and his play being produced by the Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF).
This year’s edition of the Beeta playwright competition, organised by the Beeta Universal Arts Foundation in partnership with the MTN Foundation, had over 700 entries and the top ten finalists were selected and treated to a one-week training workshop. The competition is aimed at grooming young budding playwrights to tell indigenous Nigerian stories and showcase their writing skills and talent in the Nigerian creative industry.
Speaking at the finale event, the Founder, of Beeta Universal Arts Foundation, Bikiya Graham-Douglas applauded the tenacity of Nigerian youths. She stated “For the first time ever, we had a total of 794 entries from 30 states. This just goes to show that Nigerian youths are made to believe, that they are indeed the future of Nigeria. We are very grateful to discover talent in Africa and It’s been very rewarding seeing all these young people writing and telling their own versions of our history.’
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