By Frank Ulom
Half a million naira (N500,000) has been shared among the winners of the maiden edition of “Sharing Our Story”, a Photography and Videography competition organised by the Cross River State Government in conjunction with EddyLiz Studio.
The finale which held on Sunday, December 20, 2020 at Transcorp Hotels, Calabar, saw 8 Finalists; four Photographers and four Videographers battled for the ultimate prize in the two categories.
The winner of the Photography category carted home with N100,000, while Videography bagged N150,000. The first and second runners-up went home with N75,000 and N50,000 each for both categories.
The names of winners of Sharing Our Story contest for Videography include: Joseph Egom (winner), Henry Ntero (1st runner-up) and Ephraim Okoi Arikpo (2nd runner-up).
Names of winners of Sharing Our Story contest for Photography are: Daniel Ubana (winner), Francis Nzekwe (1st runner-up) and Iniobong Samuel (2nd runner-up).
Speaking to the press after the contest, Chief Offu Aya, Commissioner for Sports and Cinematography, Cross River State, said the contest was to engage the youths, identity their talents and nurture them.
Aya said: “This contest is all about passion for the youths, to keep them busy and to find something for them to do”.
He added that, “this did not start with the #EndSARS, it is a Government initiative before now and that was why the Governor created the ministry to create this platform for us to bring the youths together, identify those with talent, nurture and groom them.
“From a contest like this, we get to know more about Cross River State, our cultural heritage and we are also telling it to the world so that they will appreciate the uniqueness of the state and in the same way, we are creating jobs and opportunities for the youths”.
On his part, Prince Godswill Edward, Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Sports and Cinematography and CEO, EddyLiz Studios, one of the sponsors of the Sharing Our Story, said the ideology behind the competition was to reach out to local content.
According to him, “The ideology behind the ‘Sharing Our Story’ contest was because we wanted to reach out to local content, get young people in our various communities to be able to share the story. We wanted Nigeria and the World to know about the people, our geographical location, our heritage and our tourism in Cross River State.
“It was a platform that opens up to people to come out and express themselves, do something lucrative and to also talk about who they are”.
Edward said the talent contest won’t end in this maiden edition, neither in Cross River State but to the whole world. “This won’t end here – we are going to ensure we take this vision beyond the shores and borders of Cross River State and other parts of Nigeria and Africa – so they can be able to partner with the Sharing Our Story ideas to see how we can help bring about the stories of various communities, various cultures, their unity and diversity and also promote talent creation and development with young people who have been given the opportunity and skills.
“For the winners, we are going to train them and at the same time, we are going to go into more movie production and we cannot go into production without looking for talent with the ambient of where we find ourselves. So, now that we have skills, talents and creative minded youths out there, we can now take production beyond here”, he maintained.
Speaking also, Mr. Dornclaimz Enamhe, an astute Politician and one of the spectators, said he was amazed by the talents while advising other youths to keep striving for something big rather than harbour negative thoughts in their mind.
“I would like to sincerely thank the organisers of this programme and to say that what we have seen today is mind-blowing – I never thought that in my history of thinking Cross River, I would be wowed by so much revelations like today.
“Let me first appreciate these young talents who have come up from the creeks of the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and to say to them ‘you have the future, you can do better’. For the other youths who will be watching this programme, come on, bring out your talent, showcase it, for there is a future for you”, Enamhe said.
Prince Nsa Ekpenyong, President, Media Professional Association of Nigeria (MPAN), Cross River State Chapter, said “it was a wonderful outing and performance from the story telling, the presentation, etc – the contestants did their best and I give it to them”.
Meanwhile, Joseph Egom, winner, Videography category, who is from Ikom LGA of the state, said he had to scale through a lot of set backs to enter into the competition which he ended up winning the ultimate price.
“I was not really expecting this because I was choked up at some point and during my editing process, I had problem with my PC (personal computer) and I had to send it to Lagos for repair”, Egom said, adding “I was looking for where to lend one and fortunately, a friend of mine gave me his and that was how I entered into this competition.
“I thank the organisers of this competition. The contest is beyond my expectation and I want to say ‘thank you’. I hope this story telling dream does not end in Cross River State”.
Egom’s work was on using Football to curb social vices among the youths.
Speaking also, Daniel Ubana, winner, Photography category, who is from Yakurr LGA, said “I really appreciate the organisers of this talent hunt show, because I never saw this coming – just with my mobile phone – and I didn’t know it will give me this kind of opportunity to showcase my talent and now the world have seen what I am capable of.
“Resources have been put into my pocket, the world should look out for Daniel Ubana”, he added.
Ubana’s work was on the royalty of the people of Ugep in Yakurr local government area of Cross River State.
The criteria for the selection process include, Originality, Uniqueness, Time management (59sec), Photo quality, Story telling (message), Story presentation and Social media presentation.
