Yemi Akande emerged as the overall winner of the fifth edition of the Beeta playwright competition, with his play titled ‘The Mask We Wear’. This was announced at the grand finale event, held on Friday, November 18, 2022, at the Agip hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos.
Yemi Akande who emerged the winner out of the top ten finalists was awarded 1.5 million naira, 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 where 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, Founder, 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’’.
She also appreciated the efforts of the sponsors saying “My
sincere appreciation also goes to all our sponsors who have made this dream
come true, especially the MTN
Foundation, who have stood by us from the beginning of this
year’s edition till now. I am very grateful.”
Also speaking at the grand finale event, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo
Sanya said, “The Foundation is invested in and will continue
to support and sponsor projects like this that empower young Nigerians. Our expectations are that you grace global
stages and we see your production across the globe’’.
Ego Boyo, Bolanle Austen-Peters, and Enyinna Nwigwe amongst
other artists were also present at the grand finale event.
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