Nigeria Content Online

A
winner has emerged in the ‘Preemptive’ essay writing competition.
Gbenga Adeniji won the pseudo reality show held on June 16 at The Place
Hotels, Ajao Estate, Lagos, which concluded the competition announced
last month.

Adeniji piped four
other finalists – Lawrence Wakdet, Emmanuel Ugokwe, John Okunola and
Natasha Bassey – to the N100, 000 prize money.

The essay
competition is part of the larger ‘Preemptive’ project involving the
staging of the play written by US-based Niyi Coker and directed by
Segun Ojewuyi on three continents. The play, about the role of dialogue
in conflict resolution, is on in Barbados till June 29. It will be at
the Shaw Theatre, UK, on July 1 and 2. The production, comprising a
cast of eight, will be staged at the MUSON Centre from July 12 to 15;
Cultural Centre, Calabar, on July 20 and 21 and the NUC Hall, Abuja on
July 24.

Actress Lillian
Amah Tina-Aluko produced the pseudo reality show for Teju Kareem’s
Zmirage Multimedia Limited. Actor Ropo Ewenla, actress and essayist,
Pamela Braide and scholar Sylvester Odion Akhaine, were the judges
while Tina Mba was narrator.

The show

The first session
of the show started around 1.00pm with an introduction of the five
contestants by the narrator. Contestants were each given an hour to
write their essays. The second session featured interviews with the
contestants before the announcement of the results. The essays were
assessed on structure, style and content.

Adeniji, a Lagosian
whose hobbies include writing, travelling and writing critiques,
emerged winner at the end of proceedings. Lawrence Wakdet, who came
second, got a cash prize of N75, 000 while third-placed Emmanuel Ugokwe
got N50, 000. John Okunola and the only female contestant, Natasha
Bassey, who were fourth and fifth respectively, got consolation prizes
of N25, 000 each. All five will see the play in Nigeria when it opens
in July.

Adeniji, who had
earlier said, “Well, I must confess to everyone that in a competition
like this there are two sides to a coin, the losing side and the
winning side. So, I just have the feeling that I should do my best,
then if my best is good enough then…,” will also go to London to see
the play, entry visa allowing.

The judges

Editor, Guardian on
Sunday, Jahman Anikulapo, who coordinated the selection of the jury
disclosed that the three judges were selected based on their
experiences in theatre, popular culture and peace and conflict
resolution. Ewenla, he stated, holds a Masters degree in popular
culture and he is working on a PhD on the same subject; Braide has
written extensively on children and women in conflict situations while
Sylvester Odion Akhaine runs the Centre for Conflict Resolution and
Demilitarisation (CENCORD).

The play and the
essay competition, Anikulapo added, are not the end of ‘Preemptive’
whose ultimate aim is to draw attention to the conflicts within Nigeria
specifically and the world in general.

“In fact, it is
just the first step, it ought to stimulate further debate,” he said
while adding that both Nigerian leaders and the followers “have to
redefine their psychological make-up. Why do you read the Bible and the
Quran when you know you will still go out and kill somebody? Why do you
bother to wake-up in the morning and say ‘good morning’? Why do you
smile to someone you will kill tomorrow? That is the kind of question
‘Preemptive’ is asking us.”

250 entries were initially received for the competition. The five finalists emerged out of a shortlist of 11 entrants.