I AM NIGERIA

We are pleased to announce this exciting new opportunity for creatives in Nigeria. We are seeking entries in writing, art and music on the theme: I AM NIGERIA. We want your entry on what Nigeria means to you, and what it means to be Nigerian in past, present and future tenses. Entries open from the 1^st of October 2021 and end on the 20^th of November 2021. Winners would be announced on 1^st of December 2021.

We want poems, prose, songs, photography, digital graphics or paintings that capture the essence of the Nigerian spirit, our history, our values, faults, potentials and everything in between. We seek creative entries in either writing, music or art categories that not only tell the story of where we have come from or what we are but can also paint a picture of all the glorious things we can be.

Feel free to play on words, sub themes, titles and perspectives in your entry. Each entry should be categorized into writing, music or art. Basically, entries that are crafted just with words (e.g poetry, articles or essays) would be under the writing category. Entries in form of songs (of whatever genre) would be in music category and entries that can be captured in a visual form (e.g paintings, photography, digital graphics, sculptures etc) fall under the art category.

Inspiration

When you think Germans, you think efficiency, you think cars. When you think of the British people you might think of politeness, strict adherence to rules and maybe even complaining of everything especially the weather. When you talk about the French, you might think wine, cheese or romance.

The question is when Nigeria comes up internationally, what is the first word that comes to people’s minds? We shudder to complete the thought.

Our negative stereotypes probably arise from an interplay of different factors: The political failures of our leaders, our socio-economic challenges, our permission of the international media to paint our pictures instead of deliberately branding ourselves, and finally, and perhaps most importantly- the actions of everyday Nigerians in Nigeria and around the world.

This competition is hopefully a call towards self reflection as a people. It is an opportunity to bluntly look ourselves in the mirror and ask- who are we? Who do people say we are? Why do they say so? What are all the things we are and can be? How would we get there?

Ultimately, Nigeria is a sum total of several factors. We’d like to start with you. What does Nigeria or being Nigerian mean to you?

Prizes

Each of the 3 main categories- Writing, music and art- would have a winner, first and second runner up. Each winner would take home 100 000 naira cash while first and second runner ups would be awarded 50 000 and 30 000 naira respectively. The overall winner in each category would also be given a brand new customizable Creative Naija hoodie.

There would also be 10 honourable mentions drawn collectively from the writing and art categories and each of them would be given 10 000 naira cash prizes. These are entries that did not make the top three positions but are nonetheless worthy of recognition.

How to submit an Entry

Open an account on CreativeNaija and upload your entry. Kindly hashtag your entry as #IAMNIGERIA in the title section.  Also submit your entry via email to submissions@creativenaija.com to make it easier to collate and manage the entries.

You can find out how to navigate the site and upload entries here: https://www.creativenaija.com/how-to-use/

Entries would be judged based on how well the theme is captured, creativity, originality and finally social interactions. It is important to us that what we are trying to create gets out there so points would also be won based on how many shares/visits/downloads/likes your entry generates. It is therefore pertinent that you send in your entry on time so you can start sharing and getting people to comment on it.

Each competitor can only submit into one category. Send us your best work!

Limits:

Prose/articles/essays should be between 1500 – 3000 words

Poems should be less than 40 lines

Songs preferably less than 4 minutes long

Art works should be under 15mb in size

Eligibility, rules, terms and conditions

• Entrants must be citizens of Nigeria and 18 years or older by 1^st October 2021
• Entries must be the original work of the author and be previously unpublished or distributed in any form
• Entries should be in English. Occasional infusion of Pidgin English or any Nigerian dialect is allowed. Translations as footnotes or the bottom of the entry would be helpful
• For the purpose of this competition, it is encouraged that you make your entry on the site free so that as many people as possible can read, view or listen. Again, kindly find out how to use Creative Naija by visiting this link: https://www.creativenaija.com/how-to-use/
• The winning entries as well as honourable mentions would be curated into an anthology/compilation that would be available across several platforms including Creative Naija. Each contributor would be credited as the author of the work but the anthology as a whole would be the property of Creative Naija with unrestricted and perpetual publishing/ownership rights and sole beneficiary of any financial benefits from its sale, promotion or distribution.
• Eligibility and winning entries would be the sole decision of CreativeNaija and her partners and not subject to contest.