The Arts-Muse Fair

As Etisalat Nigeria drops its name to formally assume a new identity as 9mobile following the exit of the Etisalat brand from Nigeria after terminating its management agreement with local partner EMTS, many Nigerian subscribers of the Telco are left wondering what becomes of the services they were used to enjoying from Etisalat. The Nigerian Writers’ community is doubly fazed, almost to the point of agony and the reason is not farfetched; Etisalat Nigeria was active in the Arts space, concretising its patronage with the sponsorship of the first ever pan-African literary prize, the Etisalat Prize for Literature since 2013. The Prize is awarded annually for debut published African writers of fiction books. Etisalat Nigeria also sponsors the annual Etisalat Flash Fiction Award, an online-based short story writing contest open to African writers.   Friday – John Abba, a Nigerian writer encapsulated the mood of writers in his despairing facebook post this morning, “Biko,

Etisalat Nigeria will tomorrow 17 May, 2017, hold a training workshop to enhance the skills of budding writers ahead of the call for submission of entries for the 2017 Etisalat Flash Fiction Award. The workshop, scheduled to take place tomorrow at the Etisalat Training Facility in Oriental Hotel Office Complex, Lagos, will be facilitated by Ellah Allfrey an Editor and Patron of Etisalat Prize for Literature and Richard Ali, a Lawyer, Poet and Author. Richard Ali Speaking on the imperative of the workshop, Director, Brands and Experience, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Ogiemwanye, said the telco saw the need to organize the training session after the panel of judges for the Etisalat Flash Fiction Award announced that there was no winner for the 2016 Flash Fiction Prize as none of the entries received met the levels of creativity, quality and excellence required for the award of the Prize. “The workshop is our attempt at ensuring that the expectations of the Flash Fict