The initiative of prize for Literature by NLNG is a laudable one. But Nigerian Literature is not an orphan that must be rescued by abusive trafficking relatives.

The formation of national ethos is largely reliant upon the temperament of a nation’s Literature. The sensitivity therefore of determining Literature that must be representative of national ideal is no triviality.

Responding to civic corporate social responsibility is highly commendable but to toy with a terrain as sensitive as Literature can be very counter productive and dangerous.

Any organisation may institute a literary prize and call it any name and there will be no problem- but once there is the boldness to tag it a country’s name, it ceases to be just an organisation’s affair but becomes the responsibility of that nation to hold it to account to be truly representative of it.

The first national responsibility I think, would be to ensure that all submitted texts are read primarily by the judges and not by their proxies. This on its own ensures that not only texts with big budget- public visibility such as being published by big publishing brands, media coverage and promotions are selected. While standard big budget publishing is very good, small publishing and development of small and medium sectors and their value should not be seen as poor cousins.

The beauty or part of the beauty of National Literature is discovering hitherto hidden and less visible gems of literary cultural heritage, such that the attentive observer would be wowed by a careful but revealing selection.

If all who are directly involved in the selection process cannot and does not read the texts, how then is the award credible? The first rule of assessment in textual exegesis is to read the text.

For starters, this year’s (2025) process was followed by a team of keen investigative observers whose primary interest was upholding both the integrity of the prize and the sanctity of Nigerian Literature. It is observed that this question of whether the judges would be able to read all entry texts was first raised at the press briefing and handing-over ceremony of the texts after the close of entries in Lagos.

Between the date for the close of entries in … April, 2025 to the 23rd of July,2025, there is no way a team of three advisory board members, three judges and one international consultant could have read all 257 entries of fiction each, to arrive at a credible long list of eleven. It is clearly a bull-jam!

If the NLNG made bold its claim that none of the entries was worthy of the prize in a certain year and on some others saw it fit to name joint-winners, then by every means necessary it is equally to the benefit of its credibility to ensure that every entry is read and given deserved attention. Unless we are here informed that those earlier positions and the present are all predetermined. One then wonders how winners are selected?

Every other criteria could be subjective but the direct objective reading of all entries by the judges should not be compromised so that whatever position a judge takes, it would be an informed conscientious decision even if not generally acceptable.

I have had the privilege of privately ‘struggling’ through some of the texts that made it to the questionable long list of 11, and wrote reviews on others, and I can sincerely say that as a natural gifted writer, and again a literary scholar by training, that I stand to make sound unbiased judgment that I could not endure stumbling through at least one of the texts, yet it made it to the long list of 11, while another that clearly met the embodiment of what Nigerian literary soul should be, did not.

As earlier noted, any individual or organisation or institution could endow a literary prize and determine the terms of reference as long as it remains a private affair. But if it invokes the national spirit of a place and calls upon same for the purpose of the prize validation, it can no longer claim to retain the absolute right of terms of reference.

The very idea of National Literature is hardly commercial, not discountenancing commercial viability, but it cannot be the primary standard for the determination of National Literature.

Is our National Literature now externalised?

Laureates of the prize are who they are- laureates, simple !

They should have no business directly with the selection process except as perhaps consultants. They have become a part of that literary prize’ family.( comprehensive recommendations to better administer the prize could be requested for by the prize body.) I am of a ready disposition to help redirect and salvage this impending catastrophe and national embarrassment anytime for the love of the beautiful thing that I think this initiative is.

The primary objective of National Literature is never prize money, and please don’t get me wrong, every worker deserves their fair wage. However there is usually a strategic long term, long range vision and plan. There is a development objective and the initiative is equipped with more than the capacity to execute this. Literature is National Consciousness, Social and Behavioural Engineering, Ethics, Creative Development, Thinking and Thought Process and Pattern and I can keep on going. The primary reason for the state of affair as it is today in Nigeria, all things inclusive is because idea generation and shaping which is what Literature is, is not given the right steering it requires. Things don’t just happen on their own.

Who is legislating over this perfidy? The very idea of creating a prize tagged ‘Nigeria Prize …(for anything)’ in itself denotes affirmation of voices that must embody the true literary soul of the nation in question and because of this, it simply means voice over prize-money, without reducing the economic value of prize-money. By implication it is implied that once a voice is affirmed, the voice is representative of national literary ethos and can become powerful enough to command resources and influence through the opportunities that follow the recognition which the Prize confers and not to start scrambling over the same source of its affirmation over and over again.

We need more authentic powerful voices and not a regurgitation of voices already previously showcased. It repudiates an award that previously maintained that it was in search of good literary voices and has on occasion denounced whole entries for claimed lack of standard to now see standard entries not accorded adequate respect and recognition.

Parameters of the award in line with its vision and objectives must be clear otherwise if you claim that entry is open, then persons like Achebe and those of his literary pedigree are also free to enter. Prizes aimed at National Literary legacies could do each or all of the following amongst others; recognize new voices and give them the opportunity to stabilize their craft and voices, recognize existing mid-career poets and authors and/or thirdly celebrate already existing and established poets/authors at the peak of their career. Anyone with keen insight into canonical legacies and its implication for the global and future standing of Nigerian Literature would not take lightly the position presented here.

The NLNG prize by implication lowers the award’s pedigree by allowing former winners to recontest. What are they contesting for? For a reassurance of the already assured? Prize-Money? Are they saying by implication that the process that produced them previously was skewed and therefore they need a re-evaluation and revalidation? Are they saying that the voluble voice conferred on winners by the prize is not voluble enough, and must, like an annual renewal ritual to a deity, visit must be paid to its shrine to reenact its potency? We are talking of National Literature and symbol of standards and National Literary pedigree. If an author clinches this award having gone through a clear unbiased rigorous process, every of the writer’s works, past, present and future would have to be in many ways held to account by the very quality of standards that produced him or her in the first place.

I mentioned earlier that any writer who wins the award automatically becomes a part of the prize and its body, they already have a name and are established, and their names ring close to the award and it is clearly an already skewed process competing against in-house people.

In the supposed long list of 11 titles, some previous winners were sighted affirming my position that they aught not be a part of the process otherwise two things among many could be said- one, that the quality of the process is skewed two, a fruitless debate about how meriting or unmeriting the writers’ submissions are would begin. This is not the first time. I’m the past, many previous winners had also made repeated appearances and even winning more than once. Again, if only one of the previous winners, wins the prize-money afresh ( because clearly it is only a prize -money chase), it means you have lowered other previous winners who contested, and if none of the previous contesting winners, win, the new winner has been placed vintage high over previous laureates- this should not be so.

Laureates could be placed on an annual stipend for life and they should have less direct involvement with the process. If this is not done, not long from now it would be almost impossible to fairly administer this noble literary prize initiative. I say this out of goodwill and I hope that this is met with utmost equanimity by all concerned out of my deep respect for Nigerian Literature, all meriting laureates, and for the prestige and sanctity of the prize’ pedigree which the laureates themselves are foremost beneficiaries.

Rex E. Odoemenam( Poet / Author )

lives the bucolic from where the intrusion of urban jungles of the universe is suffered.

+234-7064960690 ( wassap only )

orexmma@gmail.com