About

S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema (Su’ur Agema) is a Nigerian-born Nottingham-based multifaceted individual with a flair for leadership, development work, research, culture and creative writing. He proudly stands as the mastermind behind the renowned Benue Book and Arts Festival in Nigeria and is credited as the pioneering curator for the Black History Month/Project at the University of Sussex, UK, where he achieved an MA in International Education and Development as a distinguished Chevening Scholar (2018/19).
Educationally rooted with degrees in English (and Literature) from Benue State University, Makurdi, and an MA in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex, Su’eddie’s unique perspective enables him to appreciate the nuances of humor in life and literature. He showcases a robust interest in African, Post-Colonial, and New Writings, and has made notable contributions in these fields.

Su’eddie (photo credits: Tunde Alabi-Hundeyin)

A former Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA, Benue State Chapter, 2014-2016), Su’eddie has also rendered his expertise as a council member for the ANA National Teen Authorship Scheme. His leadership skills extend to his role at SEVHAGE Publishers and its developmental counterpart, the SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative.

Recognized for his dedication to literature, Su’eddie has orchestrated numerous workshops in Nigeria and the United Kingdom across literature, creative writing, development, and leadership sectors, primarily targeting the youth. An avid traveler and social enthusiast, he possesses an infectious zest for life. If not for his literary commitments, Su’eddie might just pen down a hundred books annually!

Su’eddie is considered as one of the most significant poets in Nigerian literature in 2022 after winning the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize 2022 and being a finalist for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, worth $100,000 with his book, Memory and the Call of Waters. This was in addition to curating several poetry events, awards, being a panelist at events and a judge for some competitions.

His accolades include being named amongst Nigerian Writers Award 100 Most Influential Nigerian Writers Under 40 (2017 and 2018) and was named as one of EGC’s Top 50 Contemporary Poets who rocked and influenced Nigeria (2013-2017). Notably, Su’eddie won the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize 2014 and 2022, and was shortlisted for the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature 2018 with his collection, Home Equals Holes: Tale of an Exile.  He won the Mandela Day Short Story Prize 2016 with his short story, ‘Washing the Earth’. He is the author of BRING OUR CASKET HOME: Tales one shouldn’t tell (a collection of poetry hailed by critics as deep and pleasantly different) which was longlisted for the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize (2013) with the title poem, ‘Tales one shouldn’t tell’  shortlisted for the PEN Nigeria/Saraba Poetry Award 2013. His collection of short stories, The Bottom of another Tale was shortlisted for the Association of Nigerian Authors Prose Prize 2014 and Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories 2015. His Once Upon a Village Tale was shortlisted for the ANA Children’s Literature Prize 2018.

With the ANA Award for Joint Winner Poetry Prize 2014

His research interests are varied and included internally displaced persons education, curriculum, sustainability, WASH, menstrual health, post-colonialism, and literature in general, amongst others. He was part of the lead researchers that researched and put together Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs Comprehensive Survey/Stakeholder Analysis and Mapping of Menstrual Health & Hygiene Management (MHHM) in Nigeria report. He also recently co-edited (with Jennifer Jomafuvwe Agbaire and Juhi Kumari) the international book of chapters, Education and Development: International Insights on Exclusions, Inclusion and Transformational Change, a project founded in the International Education and Development programme of the Centre for International Education at the University of Sussex and SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative. Su’eddie’s first degree long essay (project) interrogated Post-colonialism in the work of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah, while his MSc in Development Studies at the Benue State University focused on the societal perspective of Corporate Social Responsibility in Dangote Cement Company (formerly Benue Cement Company) in the host community of Mbayion. At the university of Sussex, he researched on the history of the Nigerian curriculum, educational policy making and the SDGs, education in conflict, and post-colonialism in African literature. His dissertation, which earned him a distinction, is titled Education in Emergencies: An Assessment of Basic Education in Abagena IDP Camp in Makurdi LGA, Benue State, Nigeria.

As team leader at SEVHAGE Publishers and SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative, Su’eddie consults on several projects in fields varying from gender studies to media, literary studies, multidisciplinary studies, most of which were eventually published. Clients have included Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi, Professor Dul Johnson, Dr. Maria Ajima, the Federal University, Lafia, Development Exchange Centre, Bauchi, amongst others.

A friendly soul, Su’eddie values relationships and always welcomes constructive criticism. Engage with him on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as @sueddieagema.

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PERSONAL NOTES:

LITERATURE: LIFE: LOVE: DEVELOPMENT: POLITICS: ….

Su’eddie Vershima Agema (Photo Credit: Romeo Oriogun)

I am an all rounded writer, would edit any literary work available (for a fee 🙂 !)… a development activist and social blogger…
surfing is my thing and keeping in touch with friends (new and old) is just the order… This blog is to show my work to the world, connect with fans and get to meet a lot of people while being the best me… It is also a platform to express my views, as well as host the views of others I find worth the while. So, expect everything from literature to politics, life and all…  drop a comment or get to FB to meet…

I was exposed to Literature at an early age by a father who kept the tradition of the moonlight tales. There was my mother who bought the best of African literary titles, from Chinua Achebe to every famous writer of the Heinemann fame. A writing brother, Gabriel, and several inspiring siblings (Taver Ayede and the team) and tutors along the way baked me. More and more, I meet more people, learning… The story continues…

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