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By Chinyere Anyanwu
•L-R: Amb. Adekunle Olumide, honorary life VP, LCCI; Prince Abimbola Olasore, VP and chairman, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI; Ophilia-Tammy Aduura (NLNG); Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, LCCI director-general; Ijeoma Jibunoh (NLNG); and Dr. Niyi Osamiluyi, chairman, Medical Pharmaceuticals & Allied Services Group, LCCI, at the 2024 NLNG-LCCI Business Interactive Forum, in Lagos
The advisory boards for the Nigeria Prize for Science, the Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, sponsored by NLNG Limited, have published the call for entries for the 2024 edition of the prizes, flagging off this year’s competitions.
The science and literature prizes, which are now in their 20th year, each come with a cash prize of $100,000 while the Prize for Literary Criticism has prize money of $10,000.
The Nigeria Prize for Science recognises outstanding scientific achievements by Nigerians and non-Nigerians and will focus on innovations and technologies for reducing the effects of climate change as the theme for this year.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, on the other hand, will focus on children’s literature. 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 has a theme on children’s literature, also aims to promote Nigerian literature, and will receive entries on works in literary criticism of Nigerian literature, especially critical essays on new writings in.
The call for entries for the Literature Prize and Literary Criticism will close on April 2, while the window for the science prize will close on April 30.
Prof. Saleh Abdu chairs the panel of judges for this year’s Literature and Literary Criticism competition. Abdu is a professor of English at the Federal University Kashere, Gombe State. He has taught courses mostly in literature at various levels. He also served in Bayero University Kano, and Federal University Kashere, as head of department (HOD), faculty sub-dean, dean of faculty, chair of senate, management and council committees. He has authored and co-authored several books, including his Poet of the People’s Republic: Reading the Poetry of Niyi Osundare (2003).
Other panel members include Prof. Vicky Sylvester and Dr. Igudia Osarobu. Sylvester is a writer who has been teaching at the Department of English, University of Abuja. Her prolific writing career has produced numerous award-winning novels, poems and academic works. Osarobu is a Doctor of Philosophy at the Department of Library Archival & Information Studies, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The advisory board also announced Dr. Christopher Okemwa as the international consultant. Okemwa is a Doctor of Poetry, Drama & Creative Writing, and he is a literature lecturer in Kisii University, Kenya.
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 2024 to commemorate the anniversary of the first LNG export from the NLNG’s plant on October 9, 1999. The Science Prize winner will be revealed in September 2024.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Science are part of NLNG’s contribution towards helping to build a better Nigeria.
