27th August, 2022
Nehru Odeh
Three poets have been shortlisted for the 2022 Nigeria Prize for Literature.
They are Su’eddie Vershima Agema for Memory and the Call of Water, Romeo Oriogun for Nomad and Saddiq Dzukogi for Your Crib, My Qibla.
The prestigious literature prize which is sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has a cash award of $100,000.
Announcing the three finalists in a live broadcast on the Prize’s social media channels on Friday 26 August, 2022, the Chair of the Advisory Board, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, said the books were selected out of a longlist of 11 recently announced by the Board.
A total of 287 books were entered for the competition, which is focused on Poetry.
According to the Board, ‘Memory and the Call of Water’ “is a collection that consistently uses memory to reflect on life and destiny through the metaphor of water”.
Nomad. she said, “has a fresh language and a nostalgic engagement with the themes of exile and displacement, while ‘Your Crib, My Qibla’, translates tragedy into lyrical poetry with pathos and effortless imagery”.
The winner of the prize will be announced by the Advisory Board on 14 October, 2022. The Board will also announce the winner of the 2022 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism.
The panel of judges include Sule Emmanuel Egya, who is the Chairman of the panel and a professor of African Literature and Cultural Studies at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State.
Other judges are Toyin Adewale-Gabriel and Dike Chukwumerije. Adewale-Gabriel is a poet and fiction writer.
Dike Chukwumerije is a spoken word and performance poet, and an award-winning author. The Advisory Board also announced the appointment of Professor Susan Nalugwa Kiguli as the International Consultant for this year’s Prize.