Mr. Bizuum Yadok’s thought-provoking and incisive essay, In Defense of Leoparditude has won the 2024 E. E. Sule/SEVHAGE Prize for African Literary Criticism just announced by the organisers. The award is jointly endowed by Professor E. E. Sule, a Commonwealth Award-winning creative writer, and SEVHAGE, a Makurdi-based publisher, and also a literary Award-winner.
Yadok is a doctorate degree student at Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, who has been under the tutelage of Prof. Al-Bishak. His entry is an ingenious application of Leoparditude literary theory to critique Dike Chukwumerije’s performance poetry, Nna Anyi, Is It True?, dedicated to the memory of the global literary legend, Prof. Chinua Achebe.
In a statement, the award organisers said that Yadok’s “work interrogates its aesthetics, style, content, and tone while anchoring these within the Leoparditude theory propounded by Prof. Al-Bishak. Combining oral and written literary traditions, this brilliant critique advances African literary scholarship. A deserving winner”!
According to the statement, the runners-up for the highly competitive prize as Ademuyiwa Adewale, Gber Ebinhita Petrina (another doctorate student of Mallam Al-Bishak), Onybuchi Nwosu, and Terese Uwuave.
The organisers further said; “We salute all those who sent in their works for their brilliance and for contributing to advancing African literary scholarship. A big shout-out to those on the short and long lists, as well as all our partners, supporters, and well wishers.
“The award and certificate will be presented at the Benue Book and Arts Festival holding in Makurdi, Benue State from February 20-22nd 2025”.
This award signposts the growing recognition of Al-Bishak’s indigenous African literary theory meant to properly analyse African literature. Earlier in 2024 Yadok’s analytical use of Leoparditude in a conference paper headlined the international literary conference jointly organised by the University of Reading, United Kingdom and University of Lagos, Nigeria.
