The North-East Zonal Stages of the MPS Media Poetry Challenge 2026 – ArewaEdition have concluded in Bauchi with 29 contesters qualifying for the quarter finals, out of the 200 who had been shortlisted for the auditioning.
This followed one week (August 8 to 14, 2026) of intense performances; creative expression and fierce but friendly competition among some of the finest and emerging young poetic talents from the North-East.
The contestants slugged it out starting with the Blind Auditions, marking the beginning of the exciting journey designed to discover, develop and provide a national platform for young poets across Arewa.
The Battle Round featured 82 contestants who had successfully advanced from the Blind Auditions, with contestants competing in pairs under their respective coaching teams. Performances were assessed on poetry, creativity, delivery, stage presence, substance and the impact of their messages, while coaches were also empowered to rescue contestants they believed deserved another opportunity.
They subsequently progressed to the Knockout Stage — with contestants being evaluated through a combination of judges’ assessments, coaches’ decisions, and audience voting.
Following the successive elimination stages, the emerging 29 contestants from the North-East Zone will now proceed to the Regional Quarter-Finals in Abuja, where they will join qualifiers from the other zones in the race for the title of Arewa Poet of the Year.
The Initator and Organizer of the MPS Media Poetry Challenge and Founder/Chief Executive Officer of MPS Media, Professor Ahmed Adamu, described the initiative as more than a conventional poetry competition.
He said it the competition was not simply about winning or losing, but “about discovering themselves, building confidence and using their voices to create positive change.”
While emphasising that poetry was beyond words, he said: “This is not a battle of swords and blood; it is a battle of words. It is a movement. It is a story. It is a feeling — pain and joy, wishes and wants that we express.”
As Bauchi closes one chapter from the North East, the MPS Media Poetry Challenge is moving to the next: North-West and then North-Central before the best of the bests will converge on Abuja for the finals.
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ABOUT AREWA
Professor Adamu explained that one of the central objectives of the 2026 edition is to deliberately change the narrative about Arewa.
“This year, what we are changing is the negative headlines from Arewa. We are telling the world who we are — people of talent, creativity, intelligence, courage and imagination.”
He noted that while many young people possess extraordinary talents, a major challenge is the absence of platforms where those talents can be discovered and celebrated.
The MPS Media Poetry Challenge, he said, was created to provide exactly such a platform.
“There are many people who have talents but lack a stage to showcase them. Here, we are giving them that stage.”
The competition is therefore positioned not merely as entertainment, but as a platform for youth empowerment, cultural expression, storytelling, confidence-building, peacebuilding and the development of the creative economy.
The official Battle Round documentation describes the competition as a platform designed to enable young and aspiring poets to showcase their creativity, talent, cultural identity and storytelling abilities through poetry.
FROM COMPETITORS TO A FAMILY
Beyond the competition itself, one of the most remarkable outcomes of the Bauchi experience was the bond that developed among the contestants, coaches, judges, volunteers and the wider MPS Media team.
Young people who arrived as competitors gradually developed friendships, supported one another during rehearsals and performances, celebrated each other’s successes and comforted one another during eliminations.
The coaches also became deeply invested in the contestants’ personal and artistic development. One coach described her contestants as being like sisters, while another spoke emotionally about the pressure, dedication and determination he witnessed among his team during rehearsals.
For MPS Media, this sense of family is one of the most important legacies of the competition.
Whether a contestant progressed or was eliminated, every young poet who stood on the MPS Media stage has already achieved something significant: they found the courage to tell their story.
MPS Media appreciates the Wunti-Alkair Foundation for supporting this initiative, being the co-sponsor. MPS Media also appreciates other partners, the local organizing team, the volunteers, the coaches, the judges and all those that have contributed toward the success of the North-East Zonal Stages of the MPS Media Poetry Challenge.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
With the North-East Zonal Stages now concluded, the MPS Media Poetry Challenge 2026 – Arewa Edition moves to its next destination: Kaduna State, where the North-West Zonal Stages will bring together talented poets from across the North-West.
The North-West competition will be hosted at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall, Murtala Square, Kaduna, where contestants from the seven North-West states will compete for places in the Abuja Regional Finals.
Following Kaduna, the competition will move to Nasarawa State in October 2026 for the North-Central Zonal Stages, completing the three-zonal selection process.
The competition will then converge in Abuja in November 2026 for the Regional Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Grand Finale, where the strongest poets emerging from across the Arewa Edition will compete for the ultimate crown.
BUILDING A MOVEMENT
The 2026 edition builds on the success of the maiden MPS Media Poetry Challenge, which demonstrated the extraordinary appetite for creative expression among young people across Northern Nigeria.
Under the leadership of Professor Ahmed Adamu, Founder and CEO of MPS Media and Initiator and Organizer of the MPS Media Poetry Challenge, the initiative has grown from a single-state competition into a major regional youth and creative-development platform.
Professor Adamu, a Professor and Dean, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Philomath University, Abuja, petroleum economist, leadership expert, motivational speaker and mentor, has continued to use the platform to connect youth empowerment with creativity, leadership, culture and positive social change.
His vision is to build a platform where a young poet from any part of Arewa — regardless of background, social status or location — can have an opportunity to be discovered, mentored and heard.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
As Bauchi closes one chapter, the MPS Media Poetry Challenge opens another.
North-East has spoken.
North-West is next.
Then North-Central.
And finally, Abuja, where the best of the best will converge.
The journey from the first microphone in the Blind Auditions to the grand stage in Abuja is not merely a journey towards a trophy. It is a journey of voice, courage, friendship, creativity, identity and transformation.
The MPS Media Poetry Challenge 2026 – Arewa Edition continues to tell the world a different story about Arewa — a story of young people who can dream, create, lead and inspire.
MPS Media Poetry Challenge 2026 – Arewa Edition
Where Words Become Change.
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