Shortlisted Entries
Winner
ZAYNAB ILLIASU BOB
Who should we blame for the
Rotten Fruits
I was never meant to say anything. I was supposed to watch the fruits grow in the garden full of snakes.
I was bitten today. Yesterday, I took a cyborg to my country for sightseeing & told him to zip his mouth about the rotten fruits. His cheeks still hold a warning tag from the last visit.
DEBORAH USIDAMEN
The Resilient Symphony of Us
This is the realm where our souls dance in rhythm to the beat of our hearts – the inbetween; where expression transverse the great divide.
Here, we reach to the sky drawing from its unending canvass, a fabric of hope that is tangible.
EZINNE IGBOKWE
Let’s make Magic Together
The thin line between love and hate pitched its tent in your eyes on the day the phoenix broke its wings and fell from the clouds, lying just two metres from the barricades of your heart.
ABRAHAM GAM LUCAS
Bridging the Gaps
These differences differ to no understanding of it
Fear clothes these gaps
So we attack these misunderstanding from the position of defence
Seeing ourselves through the mirrow of conflict
Peace between these gaps feels like taking poison
ABUBAKAR MARIYA BAGUDO
Being Nigerian
I sit in a history class, my teacher teaches colonialism, imperialism and terrorism.
Terrorist with names and skin color like mine, not so black, yet still black. It brings me back to the state of my country; the divide across religion, ethnicity and class.