Blessing, Miracle, Favour Emerge Top Three In ANA Bayelsa Poetry Contest
By Jonah Fubara, YENAGOA –Â Osakwe Imoemi Blessing, Williams Miracle and Enyi Favour have emerged the top three winners of the 2026 ANA Bayelsa and Yusuf Ali Poetry Competition for secondary school students.
Blessing clinched the first position, followed by Miracle in second place and Favour in third, after a panel of judges reviewed the entries submitted for the competition.
The judges said Blessing’s entry distinguished itself through the bold use of personification, particularly the portrayal of the vote as a speaking person.
They said the poet also effectively deployed rhyme, rhythm and metaphor to develop the theme and strengthen the overall impact of the work.
The competition was organised by the Bayelsa State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors under the 2026 Yusuf Ali Literary Campaign, following support received from ANA National.
The chapter said it decided to use the support to organise a poetry competition among secondary school students as part of efforts to promote literary creativity and encourage young writers in the state.
A Yusuf Ali Committee headed by Sir David U. Suowari was constituted to coordinate the programme.
The committee appointed Emmanuel Frank-Opigo as chairman of the judging panel, with Nengi Josef Ilagha and Dr Sophia Obi as members.
The judges subsequently announced Blessing, Miracle and Favour as the first, second and third-place winners respectively.
