LUMINOUS DEAF SCHOLASTIC INITIATIVE SUCCESSFULLY ORGANIZED THE FIRST EVER LITERARY COMPETITION FOR DEAF STUDENTS AS AANUOLUWAPO OMOLEYE EMERGES THE DEAF LITERARY ICON 2020
The National Literary Competition for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions, organized by Luminous Deaf Scholastic Initiative (LUDESI) in commemoration of International Day of Sign Languages was the first ever literary competition organized for Deaf tertiary institution students in the country.
The competition was held in two stages: The first stage was a virtual contest where participants gathered on a social media platform while the second was a physical competition where the top ten (10) outstanding contestants who qualified for the final stage met physically at Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.
In both stages, the contestants participated in three (3) different tasks: Essay Writing, Poetry Writing and Speech Delivery in Sign Language. The theme for the first stage was centered on Covid-19 pandemic while the second stage was centered on sign languages are for all, the theme for this year International Day of Sign Languages
The competition whose main aim is to tap into the literary potentials of the
Deaf and hard of hearing students kicked off on 8th August, 2020. Not less than
thirty (30) Deaf students across different tertiary institutions all over the
country registered for the contest. It was preceded by a week long registration
time frame.
On the 28th of August, 2020 the first stage of the contest successfully came to
an end and within a few days, the results were released disclosing the ten
outstanding contestants who qualified and were invited for the second stage.
As on 22nd of September, 2020, the shortlisted contestants arrived at Ibadan
from different states across the country. Their journeys were indeed merciful.
They were supported with feeding, transportation and decent accommodation by
organizers of the programme.
On 23rd of September, widely known as "International Day of Sign
Languages", the ten shortlisted contestants met again in good health at
the venue of the competition fully set for the final stage of different tasks
of the competition which were all impromptu.
Judges from different walks of life specializing in different areas of essay
writing, poetry writing, and sign language presentation were also invited and
they maintained a high level of impartiality in their judgements. The judges
are; Dr. Gabriel Soje, Mr Oluwole Oluwatobi, Mr Maliq Rasaq, Mr Olufemi Samson
Oyeleke and Mr Cyprian Oraetoka.
At the end of the competition, Miss. Aanuoluwapo Omoleye, a final year student
of the Department of Special Education, University of Ibadan emerged the Deaf
Literary ICON 2020, the overall best performance.
Miss. Aanuoluwapo Ogunrinu, a 300l Mathematics students of Federal College of
Education (special) in affiliation to University of Ibadan won the Best Essay
Writing Medal.
Mr. Godwin Daniel, a 200 level Computer Science student of University of Ibadan
won the Best Poetry Writing Medal.
Lastly, Mr. Douglas Izuchukwu Ozoigboanugo won the Best Sign Language Presentation Medal.
The Deaf Literary ICON was rewarded with a trophy and cash prize of ten thousand naira (#10,000) while the three medalists received a cash prize of ten thousand naira each (#10,000) together with their medals.
It was a huge success for the entire Deaf community and the nation at large.
The programme was supported by Mr. Habilai Maisamari, Mr. Brume Mofe-Damijo,
Goshen Events Centre, Bible Society of Nigeria, Isonye Foundation, Feed the
Heart Foundation, Mr. Observer Signs, Friends of the Deaf Foundation, Inclusive
News Network and Chidi Topaz Olujie Foudation.
Talking to the press, the founder of Luminous Deaf Scholastic Initiative and moderator
of the competition, Mrs Bernice Oyeleke said that it was passion that brought
the vision into reality. She said she conceived the vision far back in 2018 but
was unable to actualize it. Following the establishment of the NGO last year
and the school closure occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic, she decided to
test-run the project. With a lot of fear in the heart, she began the project.
It was really tough garnering support for the competition, she had to rely on
her social contacts to make the program a success. She is very grateful to the
many volunteers that assisted her with the project.
The Deaf Literary Icon 2020, Miss Aanuoluwapo Omoleye, in her response, said
that she was indeed very grateful for the opportunity. Because, as a brilliant
Deaf student who has literary passion, she had to walk past many organized
debate and public speaking contests at school because of communication barrier
brought about by deafness. However, this NLCD2020 came to her rescue and
offered her the platform she had been yearning for to express her literary
talent. Many of the contestants were very grateful for the opportunity targeted
at the excluded Deaf minority and wished that the programme will continue as an
annual event.
The Founder of LUDESI, Mrs Bernice Oyeleke expressed the desire for the permanence and continuity of the Deaf literary competition as an annual event. To achieve this, she called on organizations and individuals to support this laudable project. The winners of this competition will take up a pet project of running Deaf Literary Club with LUDESI.
