The winner of The Nigeria Prize for Science 2010, University of Benin Professor of Manufacturing Engineering, Mr. Akaehomen Ibhadode, will be crowned tonight in Lagos at the Grand Award Night.

He will hopefully be crowned alongside the winner of The Nigeria Prize for literature if any is declared winner by the organisers of the largest prize in Africa, Nigeria LNG Limited and The Nigerian Academy of Letters.

Running for the literary crown are three playwrights, all strong contenders with no clear favourite, Professor Ahmed Yerima, Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo and Dr. Esiaba Irobi.

The question on every lip is: will there be a winner, this year? The committee announced a shortlist of 11 last year, but subsequently handed out a no winner verdict.

This year’s contest may turn out different, as observers believe that the shortlist has enough star power to sway the judges, especially as it demonstrates a rich variety of styles and themes— while in every case providing deep individual pleasures.

The laureates will receive plaques and a hefty purse of USD $50, 000 each from Nigeria LNG Limited, the sponsors of the competition, as well as greatly increased sales.

Will it be Ahmed Yerima again his year? Nominated back to back for the prize in the drama category thereby breaking the first record in the Nigeria Prize for Literature as the only playwright that has been on the shorlist in the drama category twice.

More than ever, Yerima has come to show that drama is his forte which has become an unchangeable fact with time.  Like his winning book in 2006, Hard Ground, Yerima, through his plays, calls the society’s attention to different aspects of the Nigerian people _ their cultures, their dilemmas, their morals and most importantly their history.

Yerima, in his entry for the 2010 literature prize, Little Drops …, displays a capacity to cut into the consciousness of our generation with a deceptively simple, but razor sharp prose in his bid to draw our attention to the harm being done to the women and children in war or restive situations. Yerima, professor of Theatre Arts at Kwara State University and writer of 29 plays is one sinewy gladiator for the Literature Prize.

Another playwright in contention for the prize is Onukaba Adinoyi_Ojo. Onukaba, a gifted dramatist, excellent prose writer, and, above all, a diligent craftsman has been a professor of mass communication at the College of New Rochelle in New York and the Managing Director of The Daily Times of Nigeria Plc. His plays have been staged in Nairobi, New York and Lagos. The BBC has also published two of his plays. His entry for this year’s drama prize is The Killing Swamp.

Dr. Esiaba Irobi, the perfect iconoclast who died in May 2010 at the age of 50 is also in contention for the prize. A graduate of universities of Nsukka, Sheffield, and Leeds; adept at cinema, literature and theatre submitted his entry three months before his death.

His creative works include plays and poetry collections such as The Colour of Rusting Gold, Hangmen Also Die, Why the Vulture’s Head is Naked, What Song do Mosquitoes Sing? Inflorescence: Selected Poems, 1977_ 1988, Nwokedi: A Play, and Why I Don’t Like Philip Larkin.

In 1992, he received the World Drama Trust Award for playwriting for his drama Cemetery Road, the same book he entered for this prize. A trained actor, Irobi played himself in the 2007 Jeff Rosenberg film ‘Relative Obscurity,’ about youths struggling to make a mark in society. The film won the Silver Chris Award at that year’s Columbus International Film and Video Festival.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature prize has in seven years of existence produced an impressive succession of winners which include founding father of modern Nigerian poetry, Gabriel Okara, Ezenwa Ohaeto, septuagenarian (at the time) Mabel Segun for her collection of short plays Reader’s Theatre; and Prof. Akachi Adimora_Ezeigbo, Professor of English at the University of Lagos, for her book My Cousin Sammy and Kaine Agary . Irrespective of its literary merits or the amount of publicity generated by its author, bookshops will treat the winning book like gold dust. It will be sought out by ardent book lovers and once_a_year buyers alike.

It will help to sell the winning author’s back catalogue while providing a much_needed catalyst to get readers into book stores just before Christmas shopping.

Being on the shortlist of The Nigeria Prize for Literature guarantees a writer a direct entry into the English curricular of most Nigerian universities, huge sales and wide readership.

The Professor Dapo Adelugba led_team will tonight deliver its verdict after eight months of scrutiny. Other members of the team are Professor Mary Kolawole of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile_Ife, Professor, Tanimu Abubakar of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Kalu Uka of Cross River State University, Uyo, and Professor John Illah of University of Jos.

Members of the Literature committee are Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, Professor Theo Vincent, Professor Charles Nnolim, Professor Dan Izevbaye, Professor Zaynab Alkali, Mrs. Phebean Ogundipe, Alhaji Abubakar Gimba, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, Mr. Ben Tomoloju, Chief Joop Berkhout, and Professor Jibril Munzali.

Members of the science committee are Professor Oye Ibidapo_Obe, President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor David Okali, Professor Joseph Okogun, Professor Yetunde Olumide, Professor Ekanem Braide, Professor Sunday Bwala, Professor Olaitan Soyannwo, Professor Salihu Mustafa, Professor Vincent Olunloyo, Professor Isreal Adu, Professor A. Afolayan and Professor Gabriel Ogunmola.