•Emeritus Professor Olu Obafemi, member, The Nigeria Prize for Literature (NPL) Advisory Board; Philip Mshelbila, NLNG MD; Oyin Olugbile, Author of “Sanya” and NPL 2025 winner; Mr Olugbile; and Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo at the award of the $100,000 The Nigeria Prize for Literature to OlugbileOyin Olugbile has clinched the prestigious Nigeria Prize for Literature 2025 and its $100,000 prize money for her novel, Sanya. The announcement was made on Friday, October 10, 2025, during the NLNG Grand Award Night in Lagos.
Sanya, a mythology retelling, was selected from 252 novels submitted because of Olugbile’s “distinct and daring” approach, specifically for casting the Yoruba deity Sango as a female. Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Prize, stated that the book projects Yoruba mythology through a captivating story using “lucid and straightforward language” that makes for easy reading.
The shortlist also included The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma and This Motherless Land by Nikki May. Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo noted the high quality of all shortlisted books, indicating an improvement in local publishing, but concluded that Sanya “slightly takes the edge”.
In other major announcements, NLNG Managing Director and CEO, Philip Mshelbila, revealed the introduction of a new category: “The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts,” which will focus on Documentary Film. This new award will replace The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, which will be rested. Mr Mshelbila stated that the new prize aims to inspire a generation of storytellers to “inform, challenge and connect Nigerians more deeply to who they are as a nation”.
Mr Mshelbila also announced that The Nigeria Prize for Science will be renamed “The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation,” reflecting NLNG’s belief that progress relies on creativity and fresh thinking as much as technology. He also unveiled a new book, Voices of Our Leaders, a commemorative book detailing NLNG’s history over three decades.
Meanwhile, Okwudiri Anasiudu was named the winner of the final Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, taking the $10,000 prize for his submissions, including “Afropolitan Identity and Afrodiasporic Otherness in Selected African Novels”.
On the science front, the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, noted that The Nigeria Prize for Science, themed “Innovations in ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development,” did not produce a winner in 2025. The Advisory Board had announced a no-winner verdict in September 2025. Dr. Alausa used this as a reminder for Nigeria to deepen its investment in science, particularly AI and digital technologies.
Through The Nigeria Prizes, NLNG continues to reaffirm its enduring commitment to inspiring a sustainable future.
