Catch up with the news!

By Prisca Sam-Duru

A total of 89 playwrights are competing for the 2018 edition of the Nigeria LNG Limited-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature which focuses on Drama.

The disclosure was made by the company  recently at a formal ceremony in Lagos to hand over the entries to the Advisory Board  of the Prize.

The hand-over of the entries to the Advisory Board, chaired by Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, signifies the beginning of the judging process which will culminate in the announcement of the winner in October.

Handing over the entries, NLNG’s Deputy Managing Director, Sadeeq Mai-Bornu,  represented by Acting Manager, Community Relations, Godson Dienye, said  stakeholders need to rally around the prize to make sure it is sustainable and takes its  rightful place in the rank of literary prizes in the world. “We have received 89 entries this year; lower than what we had in 2014 when drama was also in focus. We must change this trend. All stakeholders must begin to own the prize as theirs and push it to greater heights. We also received two entries for the Literary Criticism Award competition which unfortunately appears not to attract many entries. I consider this as a huge gap in Nigeria’s Literacy space.

“To the judges, I urge you to demonstrate your usual proficiency in administering and  adjudicating the process, knowing that the world is earnestly waiting for  your announcement of another legendary work,” he remarked.

The entries, which came in response to a call for entry published in the national dailies  in February 2018, will be examined on their merits of excellence in language, creativity  and book quality. The entries were handed over to the panel of judges led by Professor Matthew Umukoro,   a professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan.

Other members include Professor Mohammed Inuwa Buratai, a Professor of Theatre  and  Performing Arts and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Ahmadu Bello University,   (ABU), Zaria; and Dr. Mrs Ngozi Udengwu, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of  Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.