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Honours five, celebrates Mabel Segun
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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The TY Buratai Literary Initiative (TYBLI) has honoured five distinguished Nigerians for their contributions to education, research, innovation and literature, with the late literary icon Mabel Segun among the recipients.
The awards will be presented at the 2026 Young Adult Literature Prize (YALP) ceremony, scheduled for 18 November at the TY Buratai Research Centre, Abuja.
The other awardees are the Vice-Chancellors of the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano, and Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
They are Professors Peter Olamakinde Olapegba, Folasade Ogunsola, Haruna Musa and Sa’adatu Hassan Liman.
Olapegba will receive the Award for Excellence in Academic Leadership and Research Mentorship in recognition of his scholarship, over 110 academic publications and contributions to research development.
Ogunsola, the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, will be honoured for Transformational Leadership and Innovation in Education.
She is being recognised for institutional reforms, attracting over N4 billion in funding and initiatives promoting artificial intelligence and robotics education for girls.
Musa will receive the Award for Institutional Advancement and Research Impact for his efforts to strengthen research and innovation at Bayero University, including support for a N36 million zinc-air battery project.
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Liman, the first female Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, will receive the Award for Transformational Leadership and Advancement of Higher Education.
The posthumous recognition of Segun, a renowned Nigerian writer, poet, educationist and advocate of children’s literature, celebrates her enduring contributions to literary development and to nurturing generations of readers and writers.
In a statement, the TYBLI Chairperson, Dr Liz Ben Iheanacho, said literacy, education, research, innovation and literature remained critical pillars of national development.
She said the awards were designed to celebrate individuals whose contributions had advanced knowledge, strengthened institutions and preserved Nigeria’s literary heritage.
The ceremony will also feature the unveiling of the 2025 TYBLI Young Adult Literature Prize Anthology and the announcement of the 2026 Grand Prize winner.
The winner, who will emerge from three finalists representing different geopolitical zones, will receive N1.5 million in addition to the existing prize, bringing the total award to N2 million.
The founder and sponsor of TYBLI, Lt-Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai (retd), will host the ceremony, while Professor Ambassador Tijjani Bande will chair the occasion.
The Ona of Abaji, Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa, will serve as Royal Father of the Day.
