Jude Idada’s Boom Boom, Dunni Olatunde’s Mystery at Ebenezer Lodge and O.T. Begho’s The Great Walls of Benin have made it to the final shortlist for $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG).
According to the judges, the books by the authors based abroad, “represent a very high degree of creativity” and are “highly didactic, yet coated in an absorbing and engaging narrative”.
The style of writing exhibited in the books, the panel of judges chaired by Prof Obodimma Oha (a Professor of Cultural Semiotics and Stylistics in the Department of English, University of Ibadan, is suitable for children and helps provide clarity to the vicissitudes of life, spur healthy curiosity, build problem solving skills as well as promote the role of oral literature as an effective tool for disseminating knowledge to children.
Other members of the Panel include Prof Asabe Usman Kabir, Professor of Oral and African Literature at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto and Dr Patrick Oloko, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos who specialises in African Postcolonial Literature, Gender and Cultural Studies.
The winner of the prize will be announced at an award night on October 11, 2019, the prize’s Advisory Board, led by Prof Ayo Banjo, stated in Lagos.
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“Boom Boom by Jude Idada highlights a common health issue in Nigeria, Sickle Cell Anaemia, and with it the pain, love and bonds of friendship that come with the daily struggles of the victims in fascinating and capturing storytelling.
“The book unveils the world of an 8 -year- old boy who tries to find a way of saving his sister from Sickle Cell Anemia, a disease that claimed the life of his mother.
“Mystery at Ebenezer Lodge by Dunni Olatunde evokes nostalgic thrills of children adventures. The book is about the Ilesanmi children who were sent to their grandmother’s aunt for a week only to uncover a mystery of someone entering an old building without using the doors. It is a story about curiosity, riddles and problem solving.
“O.T. Begho’s The Great Walls of Benin brings children’s attention to the myths of origin, set in the ancient Kingdom of Benin. Two children go on a quest after a harmless game of hide and seek, opening up a surreal world of culture and heritage,” the judges stated.
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