Publisher's Synopsis
At the end of 2020, IHRAF and the African Secretariat held the EndSARS Poetry Competition, to bring together creative voices fighting against police brutality in Nigeria. The slogan calls for the disbanding of Nigeria's "Special Anti-Robbery Squad," which is accused of many documented abuses. More than 100 submissions were received from all over Africa. This book collects some of the outstanding entries.
Selecting the few winners and honorable mentions for the award, out of more than a hundred beautiful entries from very creative and talented poets across international borders, was by no means an easy task. The pain of having to eliminate some fine entries to arrive even at a longlist of twenty, let alone a shortlist was by far one of the most excruciating and unsung aspects of the job of a judge and editor of a contest whose central theme touches on a global and sensitive aspect of our shared humanity. It is therefore, a huge source of consolation to the judges and editors for the opportunity to publish additional pieces out of the vast pool of amazing entries received during the call for entries to the EndSARS National Poetry Competition in 2020.
