Nigeria’s global percepton and Adedayo Agarau’s Wallace Stegner’s US$50,000 win
From the hinterland of Ede to the global stage, the amazing win of Adedayo Agarau is a story for forward-looking Nigerians.
By Naomi Salami
Arguably, Nigerians are known globally for their vibrant colours, traditions and eccentric afrobeat tunes. A recent report by CNN travel reads, ‘Nigeria has become popular in more ways than just population size’. This doesn’t just refer to our popular dishes but our big-brained indigenes who continuously raise the Nigerian flag higher.
A classic example of this perception is the positive story of Adedayo Agarau, a graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State. In a recent post shared on his Twitter handle, Adedayo disclosed that on the 17th of March, 2023 he was awarded the prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship in the United States of America.
Recall that the Wallace Stegner Fellowship is a creative writing fellowship that runs for a duration of two years and selects only 10 fellows annually from a pool of applications. Notably, the fellowship comes with a US$50,000 living stipend during his stay at the prestigious Stanford University.
His words, “I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been awarded the prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship @Stanford. I never imagined the boy from Federal Polytechnic, Ede would head to @IowaWritersWksp (Iowa Writers’ Workshop) and now Stanford, but it’s happening and I’m grateful.”
Quite surprisingly, Adedayo was the only African selected for the 2023 Artists-In-Residence of the Watermill Centre in the United States and was selected as one of the 18 fellows for the Cave Canem Foundation, United States.
Beyond cyber crime, drug abuse, corruption, and money laundering that are often associated with Africans, especially Nigerians, this excellent performance by a Nigerian is proof enough that Nigeria is not only blessed with natural resources, but enviably rich in human resources that are worthy of global accolades.
