Peace Habila and Michael Ogbonnaya have won the N20,000 cash price for #Week31.
Wobbly is a flawless piece of work and there isn’t much to say except to recommend that you should read it. You will be blown away. Peace once again deployed her imaginative power laced with good flow, grammar, and imagery to weave a tale that will have the reader enthralled till the last sentence. I was particularly impressed by the line; “She was mute but allowed disgust to find expression through her stone face.” Such catchy phrases that aren’t clichés constitute the hallmark of ingenious creative writing. A wonderful piece of work indeed! Congratulations Peace.
Ritual Killing: Who Knows The Next Victim? Michael Ogbonnaya presented an excellent term paper on ritual killing in Nigeria. Not altogether what has not been said or documented, but this essay does reiterate them and seeks lasting solutions. His essay was well structured with an introduction that not only defined the subject matter but also compartmentalised the discussion that follows. I like the simple language and the unpretentious approach. There were equally enough references to back up the good research. Congrats Michael for another good job!
Feedback.
Altars Of Bloody Means by Chukwuemeka Mbam. The writer is analytical. He showed he can look at different facets of an issue, attempt dissecting, and come up with his own idea of a solution. However, he needs to choose his tense of narration. Is it in past, present, or future tense? He should also improve the use of metaphors for better grip and traction.
My Life In A Nutshell by Arueze Chisom. Now, this is a writer. A budding thriller writer in the mold of the Grishams if she holds on to it. She was able to capture and teleport the reader into situations and places effortlessly. I am even very pleased with how she was able to write like a male and succeeded in relaying experiences from a first-person point of view. The narration, diction, and pace were positively engaging.
Cold Punch by Ebube Ezeadum. Another budding thriller writer. Told a good story and handled suspense like a professional. Ebube may be too adventurous with imagery or metaphors. He should either study them more or go subtly with them.
Close To Death by Saberedowo Oluwafisayo. I just love storytellers that are simple and straight to the point. This here is one great storyteller in the making.
I enjoyed the twist at the end too; when it seemed the worse had happened.
I think Oluwafisayo should watch spellings and little grammar mistakes that could embarrass a great writer and make an otherwise great work pedestrian.
Rising Spate Of Ritual Killings And Possible Solutions by Oluka Emmanuel. I like the analysis and the way he went around the problem location by location.
I am equally impressed by the solutions proffered even if I may want to add a few.
On the art of writing, Oluka was able to convey his rage, albeit with some effort.
Why ‘No Blood, No Glory’ Should End by Oluwatimilehin Folarin. An oped that tries to analyse and proffer solutions to something that has suddenly become a menace. Good job.
Be Or Not To Be…Dead by Oluremi Daniel. Excellent diction and a straightforward story.
The essay achieves the aim of grooming young writers and is a document that could genuinely help in suicide prevention. However, more needs to be done on imagery and expressions to make it a whole package. Great job.
Short Route To Wealth by Roselyn Sho – Olajide. Again unpretentious. The essay sought to dig up the humanity we may have lost in our society. Nice one.
The other essays were equally good and the judges commended the improved quality. A judge noted that authors always write their first name before their last name. Some feedback was sent via email to writers on particular errors. Please do well to work on those areas highlighted.
Thank you all for participating and supporting this exercise.
