Benjamin Njoku
30 October 2008
After the successful hosting of its maiden edition, which held in 2006, at the Muson Center, all is set again for the second edition of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa billed to take place on Sunday, November 2, at the Ground Ball Room of Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The prize, instituted primarily in honour of Africa's first Nobel Laureate for Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, by the Lumina Foundation, is coming shortly after the conclusion of this year's edition of the coveted Nigeria prize for Literature, which held penultimate Saturday and won by Bayelsa State born woman activist and writer, Kaine Agary.
Ahead of the award night, art matriarch, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Lumina Foundation, Mrs. Francesca Emmanuel, who addressed the press last week named, Uzodinma Iweala's Beast of No Nation, The Weaving Looms, by Wale Okaediran and Zahrah the Wind seeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu as the three short-listed entries for this year's award.
The judges for this year's prize, drawn from South Africa, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana, according to her, received a total of 126 countries with Nigeria and Ghana, recording the highest entries in contrast with last two year's edition, where 82 entries were received from different African countries.
Sponsored by Oceanic Bank Plc, and a couple of other financial institutions, Wole Soyinka literary prize is a biennial award to appreciate intellectual excellence, encourage learning and support scholarship. The prize is open to African writers.
According to Mrs Emmanuel, there is an added attraction to this year's award. "The Lumina Foundation with very eminent personalities on its Board of Trustees has been running a reading programme on NTA Channel 5, of the Wole Soyinka Children's reading Club, which is a competitive programme amongst selected Secondary Schools all over the country.
The winning school will also be awarded a prize on that same night by Wole Soyinka himself" she disclosed. Adding that "you will recall that the prize was instituted in July 2005, by the Lumina Foundation as a biennial award to appreciate intellectual excellence and encourage learning amongst African writers ".
Interestingly as it were, the three writers whose works are short listed for the prize are Nigerian writers of note. Uzodinma Iweala, a 23years-old Harvard graduate and a promising Nigerian writer.
Beast of No Nation is his first novel, while Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu is a professor of English at Chicago State University, Her first novel, Zahrah the Wind Seeker published in 2005, by Houghton Mifflin and an illustrated version was published in Nigeria in 2006 by Kachifo Ltd, takes place in a highly technological world based on Nigeria myths and Culture.
As stated by the co-ordinator and founder of Lumina Foundation, Dr. Promise Ogochukwu, herself , an accomplished writer, Soyinka literary prize altogether was designed to be Africa's prize symbolizing the Soyinka personae, as a distinguished intellectual, a conscientious and sensitive writer.
It was a recognition of Soyinka's immense contribution to the growth of both his community and the world at large by being the 1st African to win the Nobel prize for literature in 1986.
The maiden edition of the prize was won in 2006 by Sefi Atta, a Nigerian writer who is based in the United states, with her novel "Everything good will Come".
Soyinka, who gave his blessing to the biennial prize won the Nobel prize in 1986. He wrote across the genres of literary works, including autobiographies and books of essays.
While the successful hosting of the prize two years ago was seen by many stakeholders as a serious challenge to the several multinational companies who milk the economy dry, and do little to promote the well being of that host communities, the second edition of the prize will symbolize the birth of another literary penetration for the continent.
Also, in a related development, the shortlist for the maiden edition of the Abuja Writers' Forum (AWF) literary contest has been announced by the trio of judges; Mrs Eugenia Abu, Jide Attah and Chiedu Ezeanah.
In the short story category , those in the running for the top three places are: Ustaz Ibn Maalik with "The Last Story", Betty Etowa Arikpo- "Memories", Eplong Sule's "Broken Homes", Ozioma Izuora's "Just A Busride" and "Seeds of Despair" by Ossie Moemeke.
Also, short-listed in the drama category are: Ater Sawa " Red Night", E.S.Dandaura "Venom For Venom", E.O. Adelakun "The Jealous King", Tunji Ajibade "Gone", Z.A. Pitman "The Gentleman Caller" and Eddie Onuzuruike, Tina Anpugars, Taitina Ezeuzoh " Never Again Most Distinguished".
The poetry shortlist features Sokei Charles Chuka " Memories", Jeffrey O Uche "Bride For Eternity", Muyiwa Akinwolore "Merchants Of Darkness", Charity Nnenna Ngene " A Moment Of Silence" and Kabura Zakama "Prey, Hunter, Prey." Others are Ford Manuel " Whirling Within", Ozioma Ezeogu - Closed Door", Kabir Sani "Jailed In A Castle", Ike Francis "Letter To Chief" and Victor Agbenson "The Cry Of Stolen Voices".
According to statement from the organizers, the literary contest which will be an annual event is open only to residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali. Top three in each category will win N50,000, N30,000 and N10,000. The contest, the first of its type in the FCT, attracted over a hundred and fifty entries, says the organizers.
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