Profile Category: Prize Winner for Literature

Adeleke Adeyemi’s Missing Clock was the second first book to win The Nigeria Prize for Literature on 2011. Writing with the pen name, Mai-Nasara, the author became the first to go home with a $100,000.00 for the prize.

Esiaba Irobi (1960-2010) was a distinguished Nigerian playwright, poet, stage director, actor, literary theorist and scholar. Esiaba Irobi, never really got the full recognition that he eminently deserved until he passed on.

Kaine Agary’s Yellow Yellow was the first to win her a $50,000 coveted prize for The Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2008 and also the first debut Novel to ever win the prize.

Mrs Mabel Segun born in 1930 was a joint winner of the prize in 2007 with her book Readers’ Theatre. She is a broadcaster, sports woman and importantly, a poet, playwright and teacher and author of children’s literature.

My Cousin Sammy is the children’s literature that won the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2007 for Prof Adimora-Ezeigbo. She won the prize with Mrs Mabel Segun’s Reader’s Theatre.

In 2006, Prof Ahmed Yerima’s stunning book on the militancy situation in The Niger Delta entitled Hard Ground beat other drama books to win the Nigeria Prize for Literature. Yerima, a respected Nigerian academic, dramatist and theatre director...

With his poetry book, Chants of the Minstrel, Ezenwa Ohaeto, a Professor of English and lecturer at English department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, became the first co-winner of the coveted $20,000 The Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2005.

Gabriel Okara was one of the greatest Nigerian poets, read widely even during the precolonial days. Born in 1921 at Bumoundi in Bayelsa State, Nigeria,