Announcing the Longlist: 2022 Prize for Satire

We are excited to finally identify the longlisted entrants for the third edition of the Prize for Satire competition.

Even though we received a total of 145 entries, this year’s list will be the shortest as we have decided to only include the best of the best. If you will recall, in 2019, we had 38 names on the list. In 2020, there were 50 names. This time around, however, we only have 22 people on the longlist.

And the articles are:

A Believer’s Appeal to Unnecessarily Over-enthusiastic Believers by Kayode-Dada Ifeoluwa Lois

A Housewife’s Manifesto in Fifteen Paragraphs by Chibuzo Ike

Children of Reason and Righteousness by Akunna James-Ibe

Dear Elewaeji, or a Masculinist Manifesto on How to Raise a Beast by Joseph Peter Akpan

Dear Wazobia by Chukwuma Chisom

Different Shades of Hope by ‘Kunmi Olamiju

Hard Facts by Waliyullah Tunde Abimbola

How to be a Slay Queen by Emmanuel Faith

How to Love a Nigerian Man as a Nigerian Woman by Obinna Tony-Francis Ochem

Japa: How to Migrate Away from Nigeria by Caleb Nnamani

Leaders of Tomorrow by Toheeb Aremu Jamiu

Lip Service by Emmanuel Isidore Udoma

LMAO by Funminiyi Akinrinade

Roadmap to Being a Firebrand Believer on Nigerian University Campuses by Okafor John Oluwadamilare

Song of the One in Mesìọ̀gọ̀ and Commentary by Olúwábùkúnmi Abraham Awóṣùsì

The Advanced English Dictionary of Nigeria by Som Adedayor

They’ve Come Again by Kayode Ayobami

Vacancy! Vacancy! Vacancy! by Akuboh Benjamin Mopa

Why Blame the Man by Rukayat Ogunlana

Why Everyone Should Study in Nigeria by Aaliyah Rahman

Wifely Advice: How to be a Good Wife by Oluwaseun Ojo

Writing a Proper Nollywood Epic Romance: A Guide by Raphael Francis

The entries cover a broad range of topics including religion, politics, scholarship, romance, lifestyle, entertainment, feminism, etc.

The evaluation of the articles was based primarily on the quality of writing, humour, socio-political relevance, and creativity.

We are proud to mention that we recorded more balanced participation from both genders this year, with 41.4 per cent of the entrants being female while the rest identified as male. This is opposed to 25.7 per cent and 33.6 per cent female participation in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Importantly, we wish to appreciate our volunteer jurors who devoted time out of their tight schedules to assess the entries: 

1. Muhammed Akinyemi

When nights are cold and days are like winterfell, Muhammed Akinyemi writes satires to create enough fire to keep minds and bodies warm. On good days, he works as an editor and creative writer. But winter is coming…

2. Godswill Gwanzwang Elisha

GODSWILL GWANZWANG ELISHA is a litigation lawyer, based in Jalingo. The satire (sub)genre is one of his academic interests and views it as a veritable tool for socio-political change. He writes occasionally for Punocracy.

3. ‘Kúnlé Adébàjò

‘Kúnlé Adébàjò is a writer and humour enthusiast. He earns a living from journalism and spends his free time as any reasonable person would — scouring the Internet for the latest memes. He was editor of non-fiction and cultural criticism at Agbowó and is Investigations Editor at HumAngle. He also happens to be the Editor-in-chief of Punocracy.

4. Adedimeji Quayyim Abdul-Hafeez

Adedimeji Quayyim Abdul-Hafeez is a journalist and creative storyteller. He views the world as a conglomerate of crumbling realities and is enamoured in how satires embodies hope of our collective humanity. He currently serves as the Associate Editor of Punocracy.

We say hearty congratulations to everyone on this list. All 22 articles will be published by Punocracy in the coming days as we count down to the announcement of the top three entrants on Monday, November 14, 2022.