By SCM Arts & Culture Correspondent I Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026
LAGOS — The race for Africa’s most lucrative literary award, The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), has entered its climactic phase as the Advisory Board unveiled the final three poets in contention for the coveted $100,000 prize.
The finalists — James Ngwu Eze, Ogaga Ifowodo, and Tares Oburumu — emerged from a competitive longlist of 11 poets, selected from a initial total of 223 submissions nationwide.
Announcing the shortlist in Lagos, the Chairperson of the Advisory Board, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, disclosed that the three collections stood out for their language, originality, form, craftsmanship, and profound engagement with contemporary society.
The Contenders and Their Works
James Ngwu Eze — Unbind Me Now
Eze’s collection is praised by the judging panel for its fluid, aesthetically captivating language.
The Advisory Board noted that Unbind Me Now boldly confronts sociopolitical dysfunction within Nigeria and globally, interrogating the human condition while offering a poetic vision toward redemption.
Ogaga Ifowodo — Why Does God Need A Gun?
A seasoned voice in Nigerian poetry, Ifowodo’s Why Does God Need A Gun? explores the dark intersection of religious and political violence in Nigeria through a rich allegorical lens.
The judges noted that the book utilizes a tripartite framework — body, mind, and spirit — to dissect complex realities shaping the nation.
Tares Oburumu — Flora’s Love Colony
Oburumu’s work offers a deeply evocative, socio-historical reflection. Written in a dense, highly lyrical style, Flora’s Love Colony re-examines Nigeria’s turbulent history while challenging dominant historical narratives through vivid imagery and memory.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, instituted in 2004 by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), is Africa’s premier literary award, boasting a cash purse of $100,000 aimed at celebrating artistic excellence and building a vibrant reading culture.
The prize rotates annually among four distinct genres:
Prose Fiction (won in 2025 by Oyin Olugbile for Sanya)
Poetry (the current genre under adjudication)
Drama (won in 2023 by Obari Gomba for Grit)
Children’s Literature (won in 2024 by Olubunmi Familoni for The Road Does Not End)
The winner of the $100,000 prize will be officially announced at an award presentation ceremony later in the year.
