By Comrade Amos Kalu

Unleash Ur Creativity is a youth capacity development initiative facilitated by the CEO of 2ET Media Network and Emmanuel Eyaba Foundation, Eyeba Emannuel DGN in collaboration with Preternatural Enhancement Center; and official sponsorship by MTN and other worthy supporters.

The 3rd Edition of the program started on 9th February and ended on 22nd February in grand style at Genesis Cinema in Abuja. Stars were discovered, nurtured, and released into the world to make some impacts that will make a difference. I have no iota of doubt that the participants who came out of the 14-day exercise will soon blow the world with creativity and innovations that will help to rewrite Nigeria’s Story in the sight of the world through positive film narratives and messages.

In this article, I am less interested in this angle because a lot has been said and written about it on the internet and all the social platforms you may imagine, but my focus is on the experiences that came out of the exercise unity-wise.

As one of the participants sponsored by Challenge AIDS and Malaria in Africa CHAMA, a Canadian-based NGO of Dr. Olugu Ukpai, I count myself lucky to be privileged to witness an overwhelmingly unparalleled display of genuine Unity within the 14 days in Camp. There was no separation or distinction on the basis of tribe or religion which is common in the Nigerian space.

For instance, one of the leaders who supervised the projects of the two teams in the most humble and patient Nigeria I have ever met. He is Husayn Zaguru that was always there for us to lend advice, cajole, get angry at you and push you out of your comfort zone to make sure you learn. He is a Hausa guy, everybody loved him so much.

Having said this, let me bring this story down to the participants’ level. UUCNigeria Season 3 was a gathering of 36 youths that were meeting each other for the first time in life but they magnificently formed one big family of love, passion and unprecedented brotherhood. Even when the organizers came up with an exercise to evict a few participants as one of the normal procedures, that process was halted because no inmate saw any reason to mention anybody’s name as we never wished to lose anyone from the camp. That particular night, there was a harvest of tears as almost all the ladies were tearing their minds apart after the exercise, believing that a few of us, 2 persons were leaving the camp the next morning. It was heart-wrenching. While the cries rocked the camp, the guys always have a way of holding their pain bottled inside. Everybody was more like a walking corpse. But thanks to the organizers for considering the outcome because either they were testing our love and resolve. or they were just toying with our emotions, yet whatever happened, they dropped the exercise and nobody was evicted.

On the part of group work, I will say that is where the magic of Unity worked better. Our purpose was driven by Unity and the desire to achieve the best results. No group saw the other as enemies because we were in completion, but as mutual contenders with a genuine mindset that one group must win. So when the chips were down and group B won the overall, we all shared the glory and moved on as ONE NIGERIANS (PARTICIPANTS).

Inside group A, the story we used was told by Da’anog Gyang (Hausa), Script written by Amos Kalu (Igbo), and Directed by Peter Emmanuel (Calabar representing Benin), and the other group was even more complex because they had also Yoruba and other tribes inside. Their story was told by over 3 tribes because it dwelt on peaceful co-existence. All of these guys came together and became the best UUC participants since the inception of this program according to CEO and Facilitator, Eyaba Emmanuel, thanks to unity without bounds.

Suffice this to say there will always be hope for Nigeria if only we can place value over mediocrity, lose sport-manly, and unite to achieve a common goal at all times.

Beyond the camp, UUC3 participants have built love beyond boundaries to become one big family after the program.

If only Nigerian leaders could lend a leaf from this to exploit more of those values that unite us rather than the disparities that divide us, Nigeria will become a stronger and more viable Nation.