I Won a Government Competition. But I Learnt a Priceless Lesson From It. 😂 Two years ago, I participated in a government contest to design a logo for an entire state (you all know the state 😂). My design was selected, approved and unveiled. But here’s the interesting part… If there's one thing I've learnt about opportunities, it's that the announcement and the actual experience can be two very different things. The call for submissions was publicly announced, creatives submitted their work, and eventually, my design was selected, approved and unveiled as the winning design. The prize / compensation was #500,000 alongside other promises which was never fulfilled. My issue isn't that the prize was ₦500,000. An organisation has the right to determine what it can afford to offer for a competition. What I have always found interesting, though, is that the call for submissions was publicly announced, If you're confident about the compensation you're offering, why not communicate it publicly as the contest was announced? The work had been approved and presented publicly, yet getting paid required repeated emails and follow-ups. Eventually, someone had to push for the payment, which came roughly two to three months after the unveiling. I moved on and kept quiet. I honestly didn't want any government wahala😂. Then recently, I spoke with the second runner-up, who told me some of the committee sent him ₦100,000 because he wanted to call them out publicly. That conversation made me reconsider whether I should have raised questions about the whole experience. And it got me thinking about all the governments and institutions that constantly talk about empowering young people, supporting creatives and encouraging innovation. But what does empowerment mean if the people / organizations who participate in these opportunities have to struggle to get clear information or receive their payments? If you're a creative or young professional, ask about the compensation, clarify the payment timeline, get the terms in writing and keep records of every communication. Don't assume that a prestigious institution automatically has a well-managed process. And if you're an institution, remember that supporting young people isn't just about creating opportunities. It's also about how you treat them after they show up and do the work.