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The United States-based African Writers Endowment (AWE) has announced that its 2026 rendition of the Quintessence Conference and Awards has been scheduled for Friday, September 25th, in Newark, New Jersey.
Prof. Babagana Zulum, the governor of of Borno State, Nigeria, will be honoured with the Quintessence Award, the preeminent Pan-African Leadership Award in North America.
Governor Zulum, an accomplished academic and a courageous political leader, will be honoured by African and African American writers for his remarkable recovery of Borno State from the throes of terrorism and his transformation of the infrastructure landscape of the state. An academic of great repute, Zulum will also be celebrated for his significant record of scholarship and his stellar accomplishments in educational administration before entering Nigerian politics.
The Quintessence Award is given each year as part of “Quintessence Ball: A Celebration of African People in World History.”
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The award is presented to one continental African leader and one African American leader, “for distinguished accomplishments in the person’s field of endeavour, and for outstanding contributions to the history and heritage of African people.”
The celebration, which brings together African people from Africa, North America, and the Caribbean, will be held at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel, in Newark, New Jersey.
Recipients of the award in the past have included Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Congressman Donald Payne, Prof. Ngugi wa-Thiongo, Prof. Chinua Achebe, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Governor Kayode Fayemi, Prof. Molefi Kete Asante, Prof. Toyin Falola, and Ambassador Joe Keshi, to mention a few. In each case, the recipients were present in person to receive the award, which is a requirement.
The African Writers Endowment based in New Jersey, is a nonprofit organisation founded by the celebrated Pan-Africanist and award winning author and publisher, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji. The AWE is dedicated to supporting Black writers. Prof. Chinua Achebe was AWE’s Honorary Board Chairman.
The Quintessence Award has been supported over the years by Western Union, Good Works International, and the New Jersey State Government. The event will be chaired this year by the very first recipient of the award in 1998, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari. A former Undersecretary General of the United Nations, Gambari’s last national assignment was as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.
