By Desire Emmanuel
Female author author and cultural storyteller, Oyindamola Olugbile, has won this year’s Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature, carting home $100,000
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, established in 2004, is one of the country’s most prestigious literary awards.
The Advisory Board for the Prize, chaired by Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, announced Olugbile’s victory at the award ceremony held on Friday night in Lagos State.
Olugbile clinched the coveted prize with her debut novel, “Sanya”, beating Obioma’s “The Road to the Country” and May’s “This Motherless Land.”
A graduate of the University of Lagos with a B.A. (Hons) in Creative Arts, Olugbile also holds postgraduate certificates from Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School Online, and the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG).
She earned an MSc from King’s College, London and works as a Social Impact Management Consultant.
Her debut novel, “Sanya,” explores themes of love, loss, and redemption against the backdrop of a mystical empire enchanting even to the Òrìṣà.
She is also the Chief Curator of the Experience Factory, an education enterprise that curates out-of-classroom learning experiences for young people.
Adimora-Ezeigbo described the adjudication process as intense and meticulous, noting that the eleven longlisted books were all remarkable.
“The challenges faced by the judges this year were both daunting and unprecedented. Each work distinguishes itself through masterful plotting, characterisation, and language that transports readers into imagined worlds.
“These are not merely stories; they are carefully woven realities, compelling in beauty, stirring in emotion, and unflinching in their engagement with urgent societal issues.
“Our task was clear, to choose the most deserving laureate. This cycle has been one of the most competitive yet, and every entry stretched our judgment to the limit,” she said.
Olubunmi Familoni won the 2024 edition of the prize with his book, “The Road Does Not End”.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria LNG Ltd. (NLNG), Mr Philip Mshelbila, said the prize underscores the enduring power of literature to shape identity and deepen understanding.
“Winning the prize is recognition of scaling the highest heights of literature. All the shortlisted books are of the highest calibre,” he said.
Mshelbila announced that The Nigeria Prize for Science would be renamed The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation to reflect NLNG’s belief that progress depends as much on creativity and fresh thinking as on technology and infrastructure.
He also revealed that NLNG would rest The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism and introduce a new category, The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, focusing on documentary film.
He said the new prize would inspire a new generation of storytellers to inform, challenge, and connect Nigerians more deeply to their identity and aspirations.
