Akande emerges winner of 5th Beeta playwright competition

YEMI Akande has emerged 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 at the Agip hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos at the weekend.

Akande emerged winner out of the top 10 finalists and 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 MTN Foundation, had over 700 entries where the top 10 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 said: “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 and 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.”

Also speaking at the grand finale, 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.”