By Iminza Keboge
Published August 12, 2018

Bilkisu Labaran, BBC Pidgin Editorial head for Nigeria, says Pidgin is the language of unity spoken by people from all walks of lifeAn essay writing competition for Pidgin English language speakers invites applications.

The contest, that is open to current students of a tertiary institution in Africa, is looking for essays running of 800-1000 words long on the theme, ‘Is Africa’s youth ready for political leadership?’.

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BBC News Pidgin, the organisers of what is billed as Africa’s first ever contest in Pidgin, say a “panel of judges drawn from Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon, and made up of academics, Pidgin authors, and journalists, will select one winner. All essays must adhere to Pidgin English structure while conforming to all rules of grammar and punctuation.”

The winner of the contest, who is expected to receive a one year scholarship covering the costs of academic books, BBC News Pidgin says, will be announced at an event in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, on September 15, 2018.

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Adejuwon Soyinka, Editor of BBC News Pidgin service, says the essay writing competition aims to encourage the uptake of written Pidgin across West and Central Africa.“This Pidgin essay competition is the first for the region from an international broadcaster and the competition aims to encourage the uptake of written Pidgin across West and Central Africa,” says Adejuwon Soyinka, Editor of BBC News Pidgin, of the contest that opened on August 6, 2018.

On her part, Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, Head of World Service West Africa Languages, says: “It’s been an exciting year since the launch of BBC News Pidgin and this competition is a way to encourage the use of Pidgin language among our young audiences.”

Contestants are asked to send their entries to bbcpidgin.essay@bbc.co.uk ahead of the September 2, 2018 deadline.

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Further information on how to enter, including the full terms and conditions, are available at the BBC News Pidgin website

Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, Head of World Service West Africa Languages, says competition is a way to encourage the use of Pidgin language among our young audiences.BBC World Service says its BBC News Pidgin service, that was launched in 2017, has so far “produced many impactful stories including ‘Sweet, Sweet Codeine,’ an investigative documentary on codeine cough syrup abuse in Nigeria, as well as influential interviews with people, including the French President, Emmanuel Macron; former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo; current Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Microsoft founder, Bill Gates; the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright; and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.”

In a statement issued by Marina Forsythe of BBC World Service Group Communications department, the British multi-platform broadcaster says “BBC News Pidgin reaches a weekly audience of 7.5m people in Nigeria and around the world on radio, online , Facebook and Instagram.”

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BBC World Service’s BBC Africa hub currently delivers content in Afaan Oromo, Amharic, English, French, Hausa, Igbo, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Pidgin, Somali, Tigrinya, Kiswahili and Yoruba.