NEMA Launches ₦3m Essay Contest to Boost Youth Disaster Awareness

LAGOS – The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has kicked off its 2026 National Essay Competition, offering a whopping ₦3 million in prizes to inspire young Nigerians on disaster preparedness and climate action. Announced via X on Sunday, the contest targets secondary school students, tertiary undergraduates, and NYSC Emergency Management Volunteers, aiming to foster greater involvement in risk reduction efforts.

NEMA’s Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, emphasized the initiative’s role in building a resilient generation amid rising climate threats. “This competition is more than a contest; it’s a call to action for youth to lead in emergency response,” the agency stated in its guidelines. Entries must arrive by Tuesday, April 15, 2026, emailed to nemaessay@nema.gov.ng as Word documents in Times New Roman, font size 12.

Tailored Themes and Prizes

The contest divides into three categories, each with unique topics and limits:

1.Secondary School Students: “My Role in Disaster Risk Reduction” (max 500 words). Prizes: ₦500,000 (1st), ₦300,000 (1st runner-up), ₦200,000 (2nd runner-up).

2.Tertiary Undergraduates: “Climate Change and Disaster Management in Nigeria” (max 1,000 words). Same prize structure.

3.NYSC Emergency Management Volunteers: “Technology for Disaster Response: Opportunities and Challenges” (max 1,000 words). Identical prizes.

This setup totals ₦1 million per category, hitting ₦3 million overall. Submissions require full contestant name, category, school/NYSC details, and will be judged on topic relevance, originality, and structure.

NEMA has run similar contests annually to engage youth, aligning with Nigeria’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy. Last year’s edition drew over 5,000 entries, with winners from states like Lagos and Kano, as per NEMA’s 2025 report on its website (nema.gov.ng). Recent floods in Kogi and Benue, displacing thousands, underscore the urgency—NEMA reported over 1.6 million affected by disasters in 2025 alone.

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The agency partners with the Ministry of Education and NYSC for wider reach, encouraging tech-savvy solutions like drones for response, a hot topic for volunteers. Full rules and past winners are available at NEMA’s official portal.

This initiative comes as Nigeria braces for the 2026 rainy season, projected to bring heavier rains due to La Niña patterns, per the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.