3 weeks ago
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Sanya by Oyin Olugbile has emerged victor of the 2025 variation of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, clinching 1 of Africa’s astir prestigious literate honour valued astatine $100,000.
The announcement was made astatine the weekend, precisely, 10th October 2025 astatine the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Grand Award Night successful Lagos by the president of Advisory Board for the Prize, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, who revealed the victor retired of 252 novels submitted for the NLNG-sponsored Prize.
According to Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Olugbile’s mythology retelling attack was chiseled and daring for casting Sango arsenic a pistillate and for the projection of Yoruba mythology done a communicative that captivates and meanders into a fantastical world. She stated that Olugbile achieved this done lucid and straightforward language, making for casual reading.
“We were impressed by the prime of the shortlisted books written by 3 writers with divers backgrounds and experiences. The books, Sanya by Oyin Olugbile; The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma, some published by Masobe Books; and This Motherless Land by Nikki May, published by Narrative Landscape, bespeak an betterment successful the prime of section publishing.
“After overmuch cautious assessments and deliberations, we concluded that precise small separates the novels and each is simply a imaginable victor of the award. However, Oyin Olugbile’s Sanya somewhat takes the borderline and is truthful our prime arsenic the victor of the 2025 The Nigeria Prize for Literature,” she stated.
She further announced Okwudiri Anasiudu arsenic the winning introduction for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism. Anasiudu won for his submissions titled Afropolitan Identity and Afrodiasporic Otherness successful Selected African Novels; Allegorical Conjectures successful Helon Habila’s Measuring Time; and Mimetic designs successful Helon Habila’s Oil connected Water. The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism comes with a $10,000 prize money.
In his opening remarks, managing manager and main enforcement serviceman of NLNG, Philip Mshelbila, highlighted the enduring power of literature, describing The Nigeria Prize for Literature arsenic “a reminder of the powerfulness of words to signifier individuality and deepen understanding. Winning the Prize is designation of scaling the highest heights of literature. All the shortlisted books this evening are works of the highest calibre,” helium said.
He besides revealed that, The Nigeria Prize for Science volition beryllium renamed ‘The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation.’ He said the caller sanction reflects NLNG’s content that advancement depends arsenic overmuch connected creativity and caller reasoning arsenic connected exertion and infrastructure.
In different revelation, Mshelbila announced that NLNG would beryllium resting The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism and introducing a caller Prize class ‘The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts,’ with absorption connected Documentary Film. He stressed that, the caller Prize would animate a caller procreation of storytellers to inform, challenge, and link Nigerians much profoundly to who they are arsenic a federation and who they tin become.
On energy, helium stated that, according to the International Energy Agency, Africa requires implicit $200 cardinal annually successful vigor investments to execute its clime and improvement goals. He added that Nigeria has the capableness and work to pb this effort. He added that each kilometre of pipeline, each processing plant, and each household state cylinder represents opportunities.
He stated further that, NLNG takes pridefulness successful what it produces and enables, adding that “Train 7, present implicit 80 per cent complete, is simply a $10 cardinal objection of what happens erstwhile policy, planning, concern and execution align. It is impervious that concern yields results. A wide illustration of Nigerian contented improvement astatine work. And it is simply a awesome that Nigeria tin stay competitory successful the planetary LNG marketplace if we enactment focused, coordinated and ambitious.”
During his speech, Mshelbila unveiled a caller publication “Voices of Our Leaders,” a commemorative publication connected NLNG’s past and advancement implicit 3 decades. He noted that the publication captures the voices of immoderate of those who person guided NLNG’s travel from imagination to reality.
The curate of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, successful his keynote speech, remarked that portion determination was overmuch to celebrate, it was arsenic important to intermission and reflect. He noted that The Nigeria Prize for Science, with its taxable “Innovations successful ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development,” had not produced a winning enactment successful 2025. He said it was a reminder that without innovation, Nigeria cannot anticipation to vie successful a integer future.
In September 2025, the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Science announced a no-winner verdict for the Prize. Through The Nigeria Prizes, NLNG cont...
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