Background
The Borg Position Paper Competition is a pan-African ideas challenge designed to surface rigorous, original, and actionable policy thinking from young Nigerians. It connects research, lived experience, and governance realities, positioning outstanding essays for direct engagement with policymakers and institutions.
At the core, the competition creates space for Nigerians to interrogate the nature of the Nigerian state; what it is, what it is not, how it functions in practice, and how it ought to work. It is built on a simple premise: you cannot shape what you do not understand.
By encouraging sharp analysis of governance structures, institutional performance, and the social contract, the initiative deepens policy literacy and equips citizens to engage more meaningfully in shaping Nigeria’s future.
Essay Prompt
Theme: Defining the Nigerian State
Topic: Is Nigeria a Welfare State?
Deadline
April 15, 2026. 11:59 pm WAT
Commentary on the Prompt:
This essay invites participants to critically examine whether Nigeria, in law, policy, and practice, can truly be described as a welfare state. Applicants should interrogate the role of the Nigerian state in providing social protection, access to basic services, and economic opportunity, drawing on constitutional provisions, government programmes, and lived realities.
Submissions should go beyond theory to assess the gap between policy commitments and actual outcomes, and propose what Nigeria’s social contract ought to look like in practice.
Eligibility
The Borg Position Paper Competition is open to Nigerians aged 18–32 years, including young professionals, students, researchers, and public servants.
This is also open to residents on the continent and in the diaspora
General Guidelines
Academic Integrity
This essay competition upholds the highest level of academic integrity. Participants are expected to adhere strictly to these standards.
Original Work
Each essay must be the original work of the participant. The reliance on AI tools for arguments is discouraged. Essays must reflect the participant’s own ideas, analysis, and expression.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is not tolerated in any form. Any essay found to involve plagiarism will be immediately disqualified from the competition. Participants must ensure that all sources are appropriately cited and that the essay is composed of their unique thoughts and words.
Sole authorship required
The essay you submit must be entirely your own work. Collaboration with others or co-authorship is not permitted. You are allowed to seek advice and discuss topics with others, but no one else should be involved in the actual writing of the essay. It must be your own work.
One Essay Submission
Participants are allowed to submit only one essay. Furthermore, each essay must address the provided topic.
Format Guidelines
Please ensure that your essay does not exceed 1500 words; this word count excludes footnotes and bibliography.
Please use a consistent font and set the line spacing to 1.5.
All submissions will be routed through a plagiarism checker. As such, we expect all submissions to be properly cited.
The format of citation for this competition is OSCOLA
The essay must be submitted in both Doc and PDF formats. To ensure a blind review process, please remove your name, affiliation, or any identifying information from the document in both formats.
In the body of your submission email, kindly include the following details:
- Full Name
- Affiliation
- Date of Birth (DOB)
Include your word count at the top of the document.
All submissions must be sent to ideas@borg.re with the subject line "Policy Compete 2026 Submission."
Awards
Gold – 1st
Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) Cash Award, Gift Items, Digital Award Certificate, and Invitation for a Feature Interview on Borg. Quarterly.
Runner Up – 2nd
Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N250,000) Cash Award, Gift Items, Digital Award Certificate, and Invitation for a Feature on Borg. Quarterly.
Honourable Mention – Approximately 5-10% of the shortlisted participants who do not receive the aforementioned awards will receive a digital certificate recognising their Honourable Mention and invitations to the Award Ceremony.