Category: Arts & Life

He was a man of honour, an uncommon freedom fighter and a leader widely-celebrated for his selflessness. “Salute to ‘Madiba’ Nelson Mandela‘’, say 20 Nigerian artists who have turned the spotlight on the impressive qualities that stood the icon out as a politician and global thought leader. As Nigeria approaches next year’s polls, the artists have condemned bad leadership with their strokes in the ArtGidi’s Mandela Day Charity auction. EVELYN OSAGIE writes.

The heroes are those who make peace and build… Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”

The words of Madiba Nelson Mandela (July 18, 1918 – December 5, 2013) are etched in the marble of time.  And even in death, the persona of the late African icon and leader in the development of humanity is still being remembered.

What Mandela means to us

As the world commemorated his day last month and as Nigeria approaches the polls next year, 20 artists have kicked against bad leadership and other national concerns with their strokes, under the auspices of ArtGidi’s Mandela Day Charity Auction.

The artists turned the spotlight on the impressive qualities that stood the icon out as a politician and global thought leader.

The auction was held online at Artgidi.com, which was put together by Artgidi Limited, an art technology company focused on the promotion of contemporary African arts, founded by the duo of Ashiru and Tayo Olatimehin.

For the organisers the move was deliberate.

“The theme connotes defending and upholding the quality legacies that Mandela lived, suffered and ultimately became globally renowned for. His life epitomised selflessness, determination, and absolute commitment to the cause of freedom. The Nelson Mandela International Day is an important window for African artists, not only to extol the virtues of the great Mandela, but one that turns the attention of the entire globe to Africa by exposing beautiful works of the African artists to the international market,” according to the organisers.

As they sought to honour Mandela through their art works that drew inspiration from his qualities and contributions, his persona meant something different to each artist.

With the theme, “Holding On”, the auction was heralded by notable names in the industry, such as Dr. Kunle Filani, Tola Wewe, Mufu Onifade, Ayoola Mudashiru, Idowu Sonaya, Gbenga Ajiboye, George Ogunjobi, John Onobrakpeya, Olushola Obayan, Adeola Balogun and Victor Asowata.

Also on the list were Adubi-Mydaz Makinde, Ogochukwu Ejiofor, Oluwafunmilayo Arabambi, Chibuike Ifedilichukwu, Lawrence Edessy, and Bolaji Bashiru, among others.

“We need serious emancipation in Nigeria. And this is the right time. As we are planning to choose with our PVC, we need to think right. Let’s look for that role model to take Nigeria to its promisedland. It doesn’t have to be about ethnic groups or religion. All we need is freedom in this country and that should be our aim.

“At this time in Nigeria that we’re trying to move away from the current administration to the next, it gives somebody an opening to set Nigeria free from the oppression and insecurity. Even as a foreigner, so far you stay in the country. I wanted to be part of it because it is all about Mandela and he’s iconic all over the world and not only Africa,” the immediate past chairperson, Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Chapter), Mr. Sonaya, whose works were in the auction.

His work in the auction is a sculptor, entitled: Madiba: hero for freedom. “It is a saviour expression of Christ with a portrait of Mandela being captured in the frame. When you look at that work, you’ll see smiling and it connotes hope, confidence, determination and freedom for everybody,” he said.

”The courage to take on the burden of freedom and the pat  ience to pay the price was daunting to my young mind,” began CEO of Artgidi Limited, Rufus Ashiru, who is also a veteran multidisciplinary artist and certified art auctioneer. ”Mandela taught my formative mind that it is always best to give so others can live. It is vital for us as a nation, especially as we approach the polls in 2023. Such exemplary qualities are rare and are most needed to build any nation.  Our leaders should also align with the ethos of leadership that has made Mandela’s leadership and politics legendary.

‘’But Mandela was not alone in the struggle, he enjoyed the unrelenting support of his fellow citizens, this is also why the Nigerian electorate should embrace the spirit of supporting good governance coming all out to vote and choosing to vote for candidates with a heart for the good of the citizenry, particularly the common man on the street. And that is the statment the 20 artists, including myself, who are auctioning their 24 works ar out to make in this maiden edition, ” For Artgidi Chief Technology Officer, Olatimehin, Artgidi’s vision is to use art as a medium not only to celebrate Mandela, but “to also inculcate his lifestyle of patriotism into the citizens of our own dear country which is why we are determined to hold this event every year.

“Mandela is an icon and a legend, he lived an extraordinary life that is worthy of emulation, he stood for freedom, equal opportunity, selflessness, reconciliation, forgiveness, and unity.

“He is a noble son of Africa, and we can all take pride in his achievements and a clue from his character at such a time like this when Nigeria is about to go to the polls to elect a new leader,” he said.

For Mudashiru, a painter and originator of HULAH MOTIFS (HULAISM) style of painting, his three works for the auction – “Flowing with the tide”, Active service and “Focus” – are all centred on the icon. ”I was excited when the organisers chose to honour Mandela through the auction with the theme: “Holding On”. The person of Mandela speaks volumes. And my works speak on what he represents. I looked at Mandela as a figure of resilience and commitment to the development of humanity. Despite what he went through, he didn’t give up. My work, “Active service”, praises Mandela’s ability to serve his people even in old age and he gave his all.  He was very sacrificial. That’s why I believed active service was very relevant to Mandela’s course. Also, Mandela was focused and kept at it; and he is today celebrated as a legend.

The work “Focus” is a mixed media, paired with photography. You’d see a hand focusing on an eye as you would a camera but it focuses on an eye.

Donating to humanity

Drawing inspiration from the selflessness, participating artists are also donating a minimum of five per cent from the proceeds of each of the works, which has been submitted for the auction.

In the spirit of selflessness, the CEO stated that part of the proceeds of sales from the auction will be donated to Funda Wazi Foundation, an organisation owned by the late Rosemary Simangele Nomthi Odukoya who was until her death, an educationist, life coach, writer, and senior pastor at the Fountain of Life Church and a South African. Funda Wazi foundation provides child-friendly and relevant resources and tools for children and adults that will assist them to learn and know how to address and control social challenges affecting children with a particular emphasis on child abuse.

“It has been inspiring. It is comforting to know that we are not alone in this quest of giving to build humanity. ArtGidi, which currently has over 260 artists of different carder registered on our platform with total value of non-auction artworks estimated at over half a billion Naira. Indeed, Artgidi.com is out to build an ecosystem where the world becomes the playing field of every creative person in Nigeria and Africa at large. It is another channel to display and export the best of Nigeria and Africa to the rest of the world. And there are lessons to draw from this maiden edition that would enhance it subsequently,” Olatimehin said.

Makinde, a visual and expressionist artist, is proud to be part of the platform that is giving back to humanity. “I’m a stranger to art auctions and donations. Art is all about giving: we give our time, our talents and our deepest thoughts. Selflessness is one of the legacies of Mandela and he did it for 27 years.”

For one who has done so much for his constituency and beyond, there is nothing more worthy than to ask the Almighty to continue to bless the person to do more.

That exactly was what the Christian community in Surulere did for the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajamiala, popularly called Gbaja, who recently clocked 60.

Tagged Praise and Worship session, the event held at the Tennis Court, Mercy Eneli Close in Surulere witnessed a non-denominational gathering of Christian faithfuls and other well-wishers who sang and prayed for more grace and wisdom for the Speaker to continue to steer the ship of the state for the betterment of the populace.

Though, Gbajabiamila was not present at the occasion, a happy Secretary General of the South-East Heritage Foundation Uzor Silas, organisers of the prayer session, explained the reason for the gathering. He said: “We gathered all these Pastors and General Overseers today just to pray and pray, and continue praying for Femi Gbajabiamila. The good work he has been doing needs to be acknowledged and the only way we can do that is to gather and pray for him as he clocks 60 today.”

He further added his expectations in Surulere Local Government Area.

“We are looking forward to having a digital local government in Surulere. I am saying this because of the way things are going because of the kind-hearted person God has given us in person of Femi Gbajabiamila.

“A local government where once you live in Surulere, all your data will be digitalised, once we click into the system, we know your address, your job, your data and every other thing about you.

“Can you see the way people have come around to join us in the prayer session. Most of these people came voluntarily not because they were bribed to come.

It is because of the good work Femi Gbajabiamila has done so far, and we strongly believe that Surulere Local Government will continue to improve as far as he is there.”

In attendance at the event were the APC Chairman Fuad Laguda, Prof Augustine Agugu, Bishop Mary Ajisafe who represented CAN, Chairman of Surulere Local Government Area, Mr. Suleiman Yusuf and many others.

The founder of 1952 Africa Ejike Egbuagu has said that the company’s vision is to raise local artists and support them to the level of international artists  the world look up to.

Egbuagu made this statement during the official gallery launch of 1952 Africa on Friday July 1, in Lekki, Lagos.

He noted that while Africa art is old as humanity, not much is known about the African artist which is why the 1952 Africa is giving undiscovered African creative talents an opportunity to be seen, heard and celebrated through the platform.

Egbuagu noted that the platform which already has five residencies is a private space dedicated to raw and authentic African art, culture and history supporting all forms of artistic expression out of Africa and is not profit oriented.

“1952 Africa is a creative incubator where we support creatives by empowering them with knowledge, finance and networks. We give them access to markets that they never would have had, we help them go beyond the limits that Nigeria and Africa creates. Our vision is to put local artists on the same plainfield as the artists we grew up hearing about in Italy, Netherlands and England who’s works move for millions of dollars without even being so different from ours and our vision is to connect the current population with the true history of the Africans.

“In the past, we valued artistic creations over Gucci belt and Mercedes but now we think Mercedes and Loui Vitton bags are worth more than the God given talents that transforms into things that we create.

“Its not really just a residency or a space where artiste just come and paint it’s really about empowerment so that we can compete and we can go back to the way we were as Africans before we forgot our history.”

Egbuagu explained the process of entry for the five residencies of 1952 Africa. He said: “It was very experimental, we were after going people and we decided to communicate in the way young people communicate, so we put of a call for artists on social media and we got hundreds of entries in 48 hours and for us that was an indication that there is a creative space that needs support and it was a very difficult process to filter down from 500 entries to just the five that you see here.”

One of the resident artists, Ntiense Tom Udom, expressed hope to gain more knowledge, network and become a better artist through the platform.

Title:         Running on waters

Author:      Nnabuife Esther Chikodi

Reviewer:   Babs Jules

Publisher:    Red Letter Crib Signature

Pagination: 2022        

We have read myriad poems and learnt from the juggernauts of poetry about the threshold of human longings and the energetic pull of the happenings in life. Esther went neck deep in accentuating the inhibitions to how men can find their nautical points. As in the scriptures, the word, waters, imply troubles. Man in his adventure on earth must ply the alleys of tortuous circumstances and would always flip his coin for a better lot. As men before us have laid their own cause for our own justifications, we expect the intent of man to find his own forage in the multitude of hustles in life should not be relegated nor undermined.

Esther touched several themes of human experiences and brought to fore the cases of maladministration and impunity in her country. She confronted the dead beat political system and the fundamentals of statecraft. She had a pain for those who have refused to throw in the towel. All those who have decided to flow like a light current against all odds. Those whose faith of becoming exceeds the logjams of encumbrances in their path.

In the poem , In the name of our father, Esther called out the excesses of state actors and how they connive with non-state actors to perpetuate acts of impunity against their own populace.

She wonders at the antithetical dive of her country in the light of political postulations. Men like Hobbes and Locke have emphasised the tendency of a state to capitulate if they can’t uphold the system with fairness and ingrained tenets of accountability and honesty in the administration of justice so the whole citizens can be persuaded about the sincere will of the government to see things work in the country. She also exposed the inclination of the so- called men of God to matters of debauchery and evil concupiscence in the poem, crossed hands: fingers dipped in an avalanche of shame bodies adjacent a mirror of shortcomings legs hanging on the guard rails of superfluities before his holiness thrusted his schlong in her backside protrusion they both broke desire into fantasy; drunken as they go long shallow and half way deep ; then they thought of more distraught disciples to be ferried and commissioned into the cave of ogres, in the name or our father Amen and Amen.

In the fifth line, the poet sees the persona in the poem as an object of abuse who has become entangled in the merits and gains of the abuse and had resorted to simmering in the abuse, in order to float in the exquisite shimmering of the gains she has acquired as a result of the abuse.

This begs the question of if the abused is really not comfortable with being abused or they become less bothered once the costs are less than the benefits. Or just to re-echo the shrill of stockholm syndrome. Or people’s dalliance with the drama triangle. The persona in the poem used what she got from a once helpless point to become a stag just to have access to all the luxury the abuser can afford her. In the poem , Kitchen sink, Esther used the kitchen sink to narrate human ordeals as how things as simple as home utensils can help us navigate certain things in life and bring to the fore, the many appearances of human helpless conditions.

Chikodi, in the poem,  meeting Lucy, she wrote about a poor girl whose only hope for a meal to sustain her family was to go out there and do whatever she can to grab something for her parents. The poem reads :

Her aquiline nose shone like gold under the yellow sun as her scented body sway to the benevolence of the afternoon breeze, her hands, acutely stretched, as she bumped into bystanders to risk her luck for a meal a day some shush her away while others are kind enough to gift her a dime. Lucy had her smile nevertheless, born of a blind father and a deaf mother, Lucy had to grow up fast to meet their daily needs, O poor Lucy with a belly full of sweet-sore stories.

The last line narrates the helpless condition of Lucy and how she, by a streak of confidence, would cajole people to help her make ends meet. Her parents were disabled and she ignored her self importance and every form of pubescent arrogance and rather than loaf or descend into inglorious money spinning activities, she held the bill by the horn , and would rather go seeking for alms than perish in silence.

In the poem, the wedding, the persona in the poem was quite interesting ; as the poem reads thus: The wedding Behind my window, the Danish decor sat in the distant playground, I could see it by my window, a hectare of land garrisoned by potsherds and lawns, the bride lingered in her overflowing dress sandwiched by the wedding cake before the groom lashed out, high as a kite,

the cake fell off a din followed before the bride took to her heels,

What a shame that humans place shame on humans. The poet showcases a wedding party that ended in turbulence as a result of an irresponsible groom who still got inebriated and made out with another woman before his wedding and caused havoc on his own wedding day. The exquisite danish cake was a metaphor for a luxurious and well planned wedding and yet in spite of the shimmering appearances, the wedding still ended in a fiasco. Esther’s offering is robust and eclectic and is a great addition to the culture collective in the globe.

There couldn’t have been a more auspicious time than now for Lagos State to host this year’s National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) holding in November. As host of its maiden edition in 1970, Lagos State is poised not only to use the festival to galvanise Nigerians and promote unity in the country, but also to mend the broken psyche of the populace.

Lagos State governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has therefore implored Nigerians to see their diversity, ethnicity and religious tolerance as an opportunity to unite without allowing politics and other things to divide them. “We believe that bringing the NAFEST Festival to Lagos at this very difficult time in our country would be used as a means to galvanise the country. The NAFEST 2022 in Lagos by the grace of God will be used to heal this country. It will be used to bring together our diversity in unity,” he said.

Governor Sanwo-Olu spoke when the National Technical Committee of National Festival of Arts and Culture led by Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, paid him a courtesy visit at Lagos House, Ikeja last week ahead of the NAFEST. Theme of this year’s festival is Culture and peaceful coexistence, which is a direct response to the current security challenges facing the nation and the need for sustainable peace, social harmony and national unity.

He said: “If sports can bring us together, arts, culture and entertainment can do better. And if we do it and package it very well before we go into the general elections in 2023, we would have used that platform to heal the country. We would have used it for people to see that we don’t have any other place to go to. We have a responsibility to fix it (Nigeria).

“We should see the NAFEST not just as a festivity but as an opportunity for us to come together, heal and project unity for our country. And ensure that if we can go into next year with all of the tribulations and fears that we have; we will suppress them, surpass them and have elections that will be free, and peaceful, and we can build a better and bigger nation that would be the envy of the world. That is what I am looking forward to.

“Let us see our diversity as an opportunity to unite us. Let us see our ethnicity as an opportunity to unite us. Let us see our religious tolerance as an opportunity to unite us. We should not allow politics and other things to divide us. I am a strong believer of arts, culture and entertainment as a unifier and simple language that knows no tribe, ethnicity and religious bias.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu said Lagos will continue to be a pride for all and a rallying point for Nigeria.

“For us as a government, it is really about ensuring that we can use every breath that we have to better the lots of our people; that we can use the opportunity God has given us to recreate a tomorrow for citizens and we can only do that by ensuring that everything that has to do with good governance is the things we are doing.

“Lagos will open its arms to ensure a spectacular and hitch-free event and most importantly ensure that we can heal our country; we can stop the bleeding in the country and we can use it (NAFEST festival) as a platform to unite Nigeria,” he added.

He also disclosed that Lagos State apart from hosting the NAFEST in November, will also commission the biggest and best African museum, the JK Randle Museum for Arts and Culture and host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and art exhibition in November.

Speaking earlier, Runsewe praised Governor Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to promoting tourism, arts and culture, noting that the decision of the government to make Entertainment and Tourism a fifth pillar in the six-pillar THEMES developmental agenda for Greater Lagos was commendable.

He noted that no development could take place in Nigeria without Lagos State, and called on Nigerians to join hands with Lagos to move the country.

He said the festival taking place in Lagos in November would be used to unite the nation and preach love among all the citizens of the country.  According to him, this year’s nafest must be used to propagate, project and enact the fact that peace is the foundation for the growth of any nation.

“Without peace, there can be no social harmony or conducive environment for meaningful elections and the result will be chaos, violence, anarchy and retrogression in the society. That is why we shall be coming to EKO NAFEST to preach peace, enact peace, dramatise peace, propagate peace and promote peace,” he stressed.

In a communiqué issued by the National Technical Committee of NAFEST, November 7th to 13th was adopted as date for EKO NAFEST 2022.The communiqué also urged states and stakeholders to mobilise interests to sustain the various national cultural programmes so that government can understand the importance of the sector to national development.

It added that government and the legislature at all levels should as a matter of urgency put proper legislation in place to accord culture its proper place within the framework of national development.

“Government at all levels should make more budgetary commitment to cultural and tourism promotion as a tool for enhancing national unity, improving employment generation and promoting international relationships.

“The need for more synergy and cooperation between Cultural Agencies for greater and more sustainable gains was emphasised, with particular reference to CBAAC’s Memo concerning the 45th Anniversary celebration of FESTAC ’77,” it said.

Participants also called for the reintroduction and teaching of Nigerian History, Fine and Applied Arts in our school curriculum as a means of understanding and appreciating the Nigerian brand, encourage productivity and an all-round development of youths.

“There is need for all Art Councils across the nation to begin an urgent and proper archiving (electronic and all otherwise) of our cultural practices so as to separate the spiritual from the performative available for public consumption, as this is key to growing cultural tourism business in Nigeria,” the communiqué added.

As part of their commitment to promote art and tourism in Nigeria, the Association of Travel and Tourism Writers of Nigeria (ATTWON) is putting forward a bold narrative on security issues that beset the country in order to boost the tourism industry. Led by its president, Mr. Ayo Omotosho, the association believes that curbing insecurity in Nigeria is the only way to strategically and judiciously promote arts and tourism in the country.

In a recent event hosted by the group  with the theme: Insecurity in Nigeria: Which Way Forward for Tourism?, the association engaged various stakeholders and tourism experts from both the private and public sectors to explore the nexus between insecurities and tourism and the way forward for from this lingering issue. Held at Citiheight Luxury Hotel Lagos, the event had as panelists dignitaries such as  founder OYASAF, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Commissioner of Arts and Tourism Edo State, Hon. Bamidele Obaitan, security expert and consultant, Dr. Roy Okhidievbie, Charles Ukomadu as well as Mrs. Tewo Jegede, a legal practisioner, to discuss the topic.

According to Prince Shyllon, tourism is a delicate and fragile industry which requires the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders and citizens in order for it to thrive. Having visited different countries and tourism attraction centres, Shyllon believes that although there are insecurity issues in Nigeria, these issues are not exclusive to the country, adding that it’s all about perception and how we project our country to the international community.

He said: “Your perception is your reality. When you see something wrong and you refuse to talk about it, you are part of the problem. In my candid opinion, Nigeria is a beautiful destination of choice for tourists from across the globe.”

For security expert and ex-military personnel, Dr. Roy Okhidievbie, the insecurity witnessed across the country today can be traced as far back as two to three decades ago, in which boys scouts and girls guilds were removed from primary and secondary schools, giving rise to grassroots occultic activities. He also lamented the poor payment of security personnel in the country. According to him, the Nigerian police force is underpaid and underfunded. As a result, they are not usually motivated to prioritise the lives and properties of their fellow citizens.

He said: “One thing I discovered in the past 20, 30 years is that immediately the boys scouts and the girls guild started leaving the schools, and cultism started coming , that was where the challenge came from. The cultist boy in the secondary school must be passed. Hence, they started to do special centres to pass GCE and WAEC. The lecturers will even give you the questions. The boy goes to the university and joins cultism full-time. He passed out from the university, become a lecturer and end up being a Vice Chancellor. So the anti-cult club in the school had to die and the cult own had to rise. The fact remains that there’s criminal activities that have overridden the agencies in Nigeria. The fact remains that the security agencies are underpaid and they are not motivated. Imagine military people protesting on the road because their pensions haven’t been paid.”

Speaking from a legal perspective, Mr Jegede noted that although the step towards reintroducing community police is a welcomed gesture from the Federal Government, but there is still more  to be done to support the security architecture of the state.

“We need to start with the laws. What laws have we put in place? What implementation strategies do we have in place? At one point, the Amotekun force came up and everybody was excited. I was excited because I felt we were going back to community police which would have strengthened whatever security architecture we had on ground. But I don’t know as of date how well the Amotekun force have been able to thrive because we still have incidence of kidnapping around. Even the regions where we’re supposed to have the Amotekun force. How will our laws push for us to go back to community police? At that point, most of the state house of assemblies actually made effort to support the Amotekun force. But as for today, what are we staying? Amotekun still don’t have the needed weaponry to confront cases like banditry or kidnapping,” she noted.

For Okonwa, Nigerians need to do more to protect and project a good image about the country, without which tourism can’t thrive in the nation. He said that in spite of the insecurity in the land, we need to project the right narrative to the international community so that they will realise that not all parts of the country are unsafe.

On his part, the commissioner of arts and tourism Edo State, Prince Obaitan noted some of the key achievements of the state by the governor in curbing insecurity. He also believed that the federal government can borrow a leaf from the leadership style of Edo State in delivering security to the people of Nigeria. According to him, parts of the key achievements of the state include building necessary infrastructures through public-private partnership, encouraging community police and security personnel as well as installing CCTV in many parts of the communities, among others.

Other dignitaries in attendance included Mr. Olufemi Talabi, Chairman of CitiHeight hotel,Mr. Dada Bankole, Prince Folasagbade Kudehinbu, Richard Inumah, and Olalekan Akinruli, both media consultants.

The Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature released the longlist of 11 drawn from 287 books in the running for the 2022 edition of the prize, focused on poetry.

The literature prize is sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) with a cash award of $100,000.

The 11 books on the longlist, in alphabetical order by the title of the books, are: Augusta’s Poodle by Ogaga Ifowodo; Coming Undone As Stitches Tighten, by Iquo DianaAbasi; Dispossessed, by James Eze; Ife Testament, by Olusegun Adekoya; Memory and the Call of Waters, by S. Su’eddie Agema; Nomad, by Romeo Oriogun; The Lilt of The Rebel, by Obari Gomba; The Love Canticles, by Chijioke Amu Nnadi; Wanderer Cantos, by Remi Raji;Yawns and Belches, by Joe Ushie; and Your Crib, My Qibla, by Saddiq Dzukogi.

The list was presented to the Advisory Board by the Chairman, Panel of Judges for this year’s prize, Sule Emmanuel Egya, 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 Judges described the longlist of 11 as the best of contemporary Nigerian Poetry, rich in experimentation with language, style and theme.

Accepting the recommended longlist, the Advisory Board commended the thorough work done by the judges. Reacting on behalf of the Board, Professor Akachi Adimora- Ezeigbo, the chairman, said the quality of work in the list shows that a lot of scrutiny and work went into selecting deserving poets who have distinguished themselves by the quality of their submissions.

The judges will also continue adjudication on the 87 entries for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, which runs concurrently with The Nigeria Prize for Literature. The literary criticism prize carries a monetary value of N1 million.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates yearly amongst four literary categories – prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature.

A shortlist of three is expected in September. A winner, if any, will be announced by the Advisory Board in October.