Wale Igbintade
Poet Ogaga Ifowodo has gained The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2026, securing the $100,000 money award for his assortment, Why Does God Desire a Gun?, which examines non secular and political violence in Nigeria.
In a similar construction, Past Tarkwa Bay by way of Peter Oghenetega Oke and Mara Mania by way of Feranmi Abiola have emerged as joint winners of the inaugural Nigeria Prize for Inventive Arts, which carries a $20,000 money award.
The winners had been introduced on the Grand Award Night time organised by way of Nigeria LNG Restricted (NLNG) in Lagos on Friday, October 9, 2026.
Ifowodo’s poetry assortment used to be decided on from 223 entries, whilst the 2 successful documentaries emerged from 98 submissions for the Inventive Arts Prize.
Pronouncing the literature winner, Chairman of the Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, described Why Does God Desire a Gun? as a delicate portrayal of non secular and political violence in Nigeria, narrated during the voice of an imagined sufferer.
She counseled all 3 shortlisted poetry collections for his or her technical talent, self belief and mature use of language, noting that they addressed subject matters extending past Nigeria’s borders.
In step with her, the collections explored interconnected problems, together with identification and belonging, the guarantees and disappointments of nationhood, the effects of extremism and displacement, and the iconic affect of battle on folks and communities.
She stated that, even though distinct in voice and magnificence, the works had been rooted within the Nigerian enjoy whilst contributing to wider international conversations about humanity.
At the Inventive Arts Prize, Technical Adviser to its Advisory Board, Joel Kachi Benson, praised the 5 shortlisted documentaries for difficult perceptions, fostering human connections and drawing consideration to communities and reviews that continuously stay overpassed.
He stated the movies introduced audiences nearer to communities whose tales had been hardly ever instructed and amplified voices that regularly went unheard.
Benson added that the documentaries celebrated resilience, documented tradition, preserved reminiscence and offered views that enriched society’s working out of itself.
The literature and artistic arts awards adopted the September 2026 announcement of Mary-Brenda Akoda because the winner of The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation.
Akoda’s successful innovation, GenScan AI (GenMRI/C-MORE), is a man-made intelligence-powered answer designed to boost up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Her victory marked two milestones: she turned into the prize’s first Technology Z recipient and the primary girl to win as a person awardee.
Talking on the rite, NLNG Managing Director and Leader Govt Officer, Adeleye Falade, stated the Nigeria Prizes had been established to recognise remarkable achievements and advertise clinical innovation, literary excellence and artistic expression that enrich society and strengthen lives.
He famous that the science and innovation prize had recognised groundbreaking contributions throughout essential sectors, together with healthcare, agriculture, engineering, power, generation, local weather resilience and sustainable construction.
In step with him, the prize had celebrated scientists whose paintings prolonged past laboratories and analysis papers to ship sensible answers in a position to making improvements to lives.
Falade stated this 12 months’s successful innovation, which makes a speciality of synthetic intelligence and knowledge generation, had the prospective to grow to be lives in Nigeria and past.
On literature, he stated The Nigeria Prize for Literature had grown into certainly one of Africa’s maximum prestigious literary honours, attracting common hobby and offering a platform for one of the continent’s greatest literary voices.
He stated Nigerian writers had demonstrated during the prize that their tales had been greater than accounts in their origins, contributing meaningfully to international conversations about identification, resilience and shared humanity.
Falade described the Nigeria Prize for Inventive Arts as a platform for recognising originality, authenticity and artistic excellence, specifically amongst artists who maintain Nigeria’s cultural heritage whilst reinterpreting it for a brand new technology.
He stated the 3 prizes had turn into enduring nationwide establishments, demonstrating what might be accomplished when excellence used to be recognised, rewarded and inspired.
Congratulating the winners and finalists, Falade stated their achievements mirrored self-discipline, determination and perseverance.
He expressed hope that the awards would encourage a brand new technology of scientists, writers and artistic pros to increase answers to long run demanding situations, inform compelling tales and form the rustic’s long run.
In his remarks, Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka referred to as for nearer collaboration between the arts and the sciences, describing creativeness as an important hyperlink between literature, ingenious arts and clinical inquiry.
He argued that creativeness used to be no longer confined to the arts, noting that disciplines reminiscent of arithmetic and physics additionally relied on imaginative and prescient and the power to conceive new chances.
Soyinka advised practitioners in each fields to paintings in combination to extend the bounds of creativeness and mix their strengths within the provider of humanity.
He stressed out that human wellbeing will have to stay central to ingenious expression and clinical development.
NLNG stated the Nigeria Prizes reaffirmed its dedication to recognising excellence and inspiring achievements in a position to contributing to a sustainable long run.