We are excited to announce the winners of the 2025 Sabi Prize for Critical Reading and Writing
For the first edition of the Prize, students wrote analytical essays responding to prompts drawn from Chapter 4 of Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood.
Our graders and judges read and discussed these students’ essays carefully. The winners reflect the strength of the pool of candidates.
First Place
Juanita Douglas-Jombo
Lycée Français Louis Pasteur de Lagos
“Survival over autonomy: Colonial pressures in Emecheta’s Nigeria”
Second Place
Pearl Okereke
The Hillside School, Abuja
“The Lagos Life: Labour and Loss in Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood”
Third Place
Sekinat Agbeleshola
City of Knowledge Academy, Ijebu-Ode
“Pressed and Empty: The Dehumanising Structures of Colonial Lagos”
Seven other excellent entrants make up the rest of the Top Ten. In alphabetical order:
Top Ten
Esther Abiodun
Harmony Secondary School, Kogi
Top Ten
Nicole Adebowale
Temple School (College Section), Lagos
Top Ten
Semilore Adiri
Iwerekun Community Senior High School, Lagos
Top Ten
Patience Alfred
Kingdom Breed Schools, Gombe
Top Ten
Favour Ameh
Pathfinder College, Ibadan
Top Ten
Janmay Edokpa
Chokhmah International Academy, Rivers
Top Ten
Maryam Mai
The Hillside School Abuja
We share our thanks with all entrants, their teachers, and their supporters for participating in the 2025 Contest. Our deepest gratitude goes to our judges, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo and Adachioma Ezeano, for the time and commitment they gave to selecting the winning pieces. We also thank grading teams across the country for creating the initial shortlists.
We look forward to engaging with entrants, their teachers, and their supporters for the 2026 edition of the Sabi Prize.