All roads will lead to Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos on Friday, October 11 for the grand finale of the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2024 sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG).
The shortlisted books in alphabetical order of their titles are A Father’s Pride by Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmor, The Road Does Not End by Familoni Olubunmi and Wish Maker by Uchechukwu Umezurike.
Actor Kunle Remi and public speaker Temi Badri will co-host the award night themed ‘The Future.’
The excited Kunle wrote on social media on Thursday, “I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be the host of the epic Grand Award Night 2024, hosted by NLNG and themed ‘The Future’!
“It will be a night of glitz, glamour, and unforgettable moments as we celebrate NLNG’s 35/25 milestone and reveal the winners of the prestigious Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism.”
The 2024 finalists were adjudged the top contenders for the prize out of a total of 163 books entered for the competition. This year’s focus is on children’s literature.
In July 2024, 11 selected works were released in a longlist and recognised by the advisory board. The shortlist of three was selected from this list by a panel of judges led by Professor Saleh Abdu of the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, known for its transparent assessment process, has recorded over 1,851 entries for 16 competitions that have so far produced 12 winning works since its commencement in 2004. This year, the prize clocks 20.
In their conversations with QEDNG last month, all three finalists praised the NLNG for sustaining the prize for 20 years and encouraged the company to keep it going.
In Mrs Chiazor-Enenmor’s words, “So many literary prizes have come and gone. We’ve had the Etisalat Prize, Cadbury Prize for Poetry, so many prizes. In 2009, one of my books One Little Mosquito won ANA Atiku Abubakar Prize for Literature. That prize is no longer being sponsored by the originator. People and organisations get tired after some time but NLNG has stood the test of time which is a good thing.
“I give them a lot of accolades for that. They have been sustaining this prize for the past 20 years…and I pray they continue to do so.”
The Nigeria Prize for Literature is administered by an advisory board set up by NLNG. The current advisory board for literature is headed by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, an emeritus professor of English at the University of Lagos and a 2007 The Nigeria Prize for Literature joint-winner in the children’s literature category. Other members are Prof. Olu Obafemi and Prof. Ahmed Yerima. Prof. Obafemi is a playwright, poet and professor of English at the University of Ilorin. Prof. Yerima is a professor of theatre and performing arts at the Redeemer’s University. He is also a laurette of The Nigeria Prize for Literature in the drama category (2006).
Winners are announced in October, commemorating the first export of LNG cargo by NLNG on October 9, 1999.
In the last edition of the competition that focussed on children’s literature genre in 2019, Mystery at Ebenezer Lodge by Dunni Olatunde, The Great Walls of Benin by O.T. Begho and Boom Boom by Jude Idada were announced in the shortlist of three.
Idada edged the two authors out to win the prize.
Last year, Obari Gomba won the literature prize for his play Grit, bagging the $100,000 cash award.
