NLNG Kicks off 2023 Nigeria Prizes Competition

Yinka Olatunbosun

Flagging off this year’s edition, the Advisory Boards for The Nigeria Prize for Science, The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, sponsored by Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Limited, have published the call for entries for the 2023 edition of the prizes. The Science and Literature prizes, which are now in their 19th year, each comes with a cash prize of $100,000 while the Prize for Literary Criticism has prize money of $10,000. 

The Science Prize, which recognises outstanding scientific achievements by Nigerians and non-Nigerians, will focus on Innovation for enhancement of healthcare therapy this year. 

The Literature Prize, on the other hand, will focus on Drama. The prize, which honours the author of the best book by a Nigerian, rotates among four literary genres, namely Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Children’s Literature. The Literary Criticism Prize, which also aims to promote Nigerian Literature, will receive entries on works in literary criticism of Nigerian Literature, especially critical essays on new writings in Nigerian Literature.

The Call for Entries for the Literature prize and Literary Criticism closes on March 31st 2023 while the window for the science prize closes on April  30th 2023.

Professor Ameh Dennis Akoh will chair the panel of judges for this year’s Literature and the Literary Criticism competition. Professor Akoh is a Professor of Drama and Critical Theory at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State. He has over 50 publications in refereed local and international journals and books. He is the former Editor of the Nigerian Journal of Indigenous Knowledge and Development, Nigerian Theatre Journal (NTJ), Co-editor of African Nebula and the UNIOSUN College of Humanities Monograph Series (2009-2016). 

Other panel members include Professor Osita Catherine Ezenwanebe and Dr. Rasheedah Liman. Professor Ezenwanebe is a professor of Creative Arts, the University of Lagos. She has written and produced several full-length plays. Dr. Liman is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State.

Professor Victor K. Yankah from the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, the University of Cape Coast, Ghana is this edition’s International Consultant.

In a press statement by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Andy Odeh, he revealed: “The winners of the Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, if any, will be announced at an award ceremony in October 2023 to commemorate the anniversary of the first LNG export from the NLNG’s Plant on October 9th, 1999. The Science Prize winner will be revealed earlier in the year.”

The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science are part of Nigeria LNG’s contribution towards helping to build a better Nigeria.