…Battle for next poet laureate climaxes
An author is about to be made richer by the 22-year-old Nigeria Prize for Literature. The anticipation is intense and the wait for who becomes Nigeria’s next poet laureate is almost over as three finalists — James Ngwu Eze, Ogaga Ifowodo and Tares Oburumu — go into the final battle for the $`100,000 prize from NLNG’s treasury.
Tomorrow at 5 p.m. during a Grand Award Night at the Eko Hotels, Lagos, Chairman of the Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, will announce the winner of the 2026 edition.
Acclaimed as Africa’s biggest literary prize with a cash award of `$100,000, the Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited, rotates annually across four genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature. This year’s edition focuses on poetry.
Since its inception in 2004, the prize has honoured literary works of excellence by Nigerian authors living anywhere in the world. The winner in the poetry category this year will emerge four years after Romeo Oriogun won the 2022 edition with his collection, Nomad.
READ MORE: Nig Prize for Lit 2026: Using Verses to Confront Systemic Issues
Other winners in the poetry category include Gabriel Okara for The Dreamer, His Vision and Ezenwa-Ohaeto for Chants of a Minstrel (co-winners, 2005); Tade Ipadeola for The Sahara Testament (2013); and Ikeogu Oke for The Heresiad (2017). There was no winner in 2009.
Poets James Ngwu Eze, Ogaga Ifowodo and Tares Oburumu are now in the running for the $100,000 award.
They emerged from a longlist of 11 titles: Adult Love by Tanure Ojaide; Bakandimiya by Saddiq Dzukogi; Black Passport by Paul Akpomuje; 2000 Blacks by Ajibola Tolase; Ceremony for the Nameless by Theresa Lola; and Corpus: Animistic Verses by Ayo Oyeku. Others are Flora’s Love Colony by Tares Oburumu; The Origin of Wounds by Malik Gbolahan; The Years of Blood by Adebayo Agarau; Unbind Me Now by James Ngwu Eze; and Why Does God Need a Gun? by Ogaga Ifowodo.
The 11 titles were selected from 223 entries submitted earlier this year.
According to the Advisory Board: “James Ngwu Eze, in Unbind Me Now, uses language that is fluid and aesthetically captivating. This collection decries the sociopolitical dysfunction of the nation and the world at large, interrogating the human condition and charting a path for redemption. Ogaga Ifowodo, in Why Does God Need A Gun?, depicts religious and political violence in Nigeria, couched in a rich allegorical style. Delivered with the tripartite structure of body, mind and spirit, Ifowodo interrogates those forces that emblematise the world’s challenging ethos. While Tares Oburumu’s Flora’s Love Colony is written in a densely poetic style on Nigeria’s troubled history. It challenges mainstream narrative and is an inspiring socio-historical collection, captured in lucid imagery and evocative language.”
The shortlist is the culmination of an intensive judging process that placed the works under close scrutiny for language, form, originality, craftsmanship and lasting literary value.
Speaking on the shortlist, Chairperson of the Advisory Board, Prof. Adimora-Ezeigbo, said the selection reflects the depth and quality of contemporary Nigerian poetry, noting that arriving at the final three from 223 submissions was a demanding task for the judges.
She said the shortlist represents works that have distinguished themselves through literary merit, originality and ability to engage readers and the world around them.
Now in its 22nd year, The Nigeria Prize for Literature is sponsored by NLNG as part of its commitment to recognising literary excellence, encouraging creativity and contributing to the growth of Nigeria’s literary culture.
As the competition moves into its final stretch, the question is no longer who made the cut, but who will ultimately claim the prize. Three voices remain. One winner will be decided tomorrow evening.
