The Advisory Board for

The Nigeria Prize for Literature, has approved a final shortlist of three books out of the initial shortlist of six released last month. The books are Eno’s Story by Ayodele Olofintuade, The Missing Clock by Mai Nasara and The Great Fall by Chinyere Obi-Obasi.

Chairman of the Board, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo, said the eventual winner of the competition will be announced on 10th October 2011 at a world press conference at Eko Hotel, Lagos.  The winner of The Nigeria Prize for Science will also be announced at the same occasion.

Eno’s Story is a topical story to combat a raging evil that has condemned innocent children to early death or life-long stigmatisation. The Ibadan born author, Ayodele Olofintuade, teaches Creative Writing at Ibadan International School and is also a freelance book editor. She is married with two children.

Missing Clock by Mai Nasara is the story of Banji, a bright and boisterous four-year-old who made his parents rich. Mai Nasara is the pen name of Adeleke Adeyemi, a journalist and science communicator with interests in TV/film, poetry and leadership studies. Missing Clock is his first children’s book. He is married with a daughter.

Set in present day Lagos, The Great Fall is a modern rendition of the age-old hare and tortoise story. The story is narrated by Mrs Mba with her children interjecting in the classical bedtime story tradition. The author, Chinyere Obi-Obasi, a graduate of English and Law, was called to the Nigerian bar in 1993. She is a banker and author of two other children’s books. Obi-Obasi is married with five children.

The chairman of the panel of judges is Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, a professor of English at the University of Lagos and past co-winner of the prize.  Other members of the panel are Prof. Lekan Oyegoke of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Prof. Yakubu Nasidi of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. David Ker, Vice Chancellor The Catholic University of Nigeria, Obehi, Abia State and Prof. Ini-Obong Uko, Department of English, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The other member of the Advisory Board, besides Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, is Dr. Jerry Agada, President of the Association of Nigerian Authors.

The children’s literature prize does not favour any genre, prose, poetry or drama; only good writing is rewarded.  The prize sifts the huge array of children’s books which come out every four years, shortlisting only the outstanding entries.

The judges expressed their delight at the high standard of writing evident in a lot of the entries for the competition this year.  They also harped on the need for writers to raise their standards, as many entries were still riddled with avoidable errors of logic, syntax and spelling. Prof. Adimora-Ezeigbo said it was challenging arriving at the final shortlist of three from the initial shortlist.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature has since 2004 rewarded eminent writers such as Gabriel Okara, founding father of modern Nigerian poetry, Professor Ezenwa Ohaeto (co-winner 2005), Ahmed Yerima, for his classic, Hard Ground, Mabel Segun for her collection of short plays Reader’s Theatre; Kaine Agary for Yellow Yellow,  and Esiaba Irobi who posthumously clinched the prize, last year, with his book Cemetery Road.