The editor Chibueze Darlington Anuonye—in collaboration with Brittle Paper—calls for submissions of essays and creative nonfiction pieces that speak to and about the EndSARS protest, which took place in Nigeria between September and October 2020. The theme is “Who Gave the Order: The History of a People’s Movement” and the deadline is June 30.

The EndSARS protest remains one of twenty-first century’s most enduring movements of political conquest initiated and executed with young, ordinary people at the forefront. The movement had a significant accomplishment of political liberation for the global social media dispensation with its demand for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigeria police notorious for extrajudicial killings.

It is now three years since the EndSARS protest was quelled by the Nigerian military, an incident that led to the death and injury of several protesters. October 20 has now come to represent a national day of mourning in Nigeria and for Nigerians around the world. But what is more painful than this loss of lives and the anguish that has deepened in the country since then, is the silence of the state and state actors; their refusal to tell Nigerians and the rest of the world who invited the military to a civilian protest, who ordered the shooting at the Lekki Tollgate on the night of October 20, as well as the violence across the nation.

“Who Gave the Order” is our attempt to ask that important question again, and to answer it by ourselves and for ourselves. The anthology will comprise pieces that account for the experiences of Nigerians during the EndSARS, related events before and after the protest, and how these moments and encounters shape the lives of Nigerians, as well as the image of the nation.

We are calling for writings that are unsparing and honest and meditative and contemplative in their take on this dark, silenced and silencing history of a beleaguered nation. We are calling for stories that will resurrect and amplify the memory of that epoch and, in years to come, serve as the unofficial but true history of one of modern day’s most audacious political and social movements.

Submission Guidelines:

  • We accept only electronic submissions via email ([email protected]).
  • Submissions open May 1 and close June 30.
  • Submission header should read “Submission for Who Gave the Order.”
  • Submission word count should be between 2,500 to 5,000.
  • Remuneration: Contributors will be paid $100.
  • Multiple or simultaneous submissions will not be read, accepted or acknowledged.
  • Accompany your submission with a short bio of not more 200 words.

We are only interested in personal and previously unpublished essays and creative nonfiction pieces. However, if you are not comfortable with writing but would love to narrate your account orally, please contact us, as we might have an idea on how you could contribute to the anthology.

Selected pieces will be published on Brittle Paper on October 10, 2024.

Deadline: June 30, 2024

Submit here.

Good luck to all applicants!