Proudly Nigerian (A Tribute to Nigerian Literature)

The post in Ore's notes headlined "Who says Nigerians don't dig reading?" really got me pondering about my country and all the Nigerian stars that shine in and outside of Nigeria. Focusing on literature in particular, it is only right for me to start with Prof. Wole Soyinka, the 1986 nobel laureate --"who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence"--




As well as being an author, he is a dramatist, playwright, poet and humanitarian. He has written several books and journals including - The Lion and the Jewel, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Open Sore of A Continent, Ake and his latest: You must Set Forth At Dawn.

I am very certain he is an inspiration to almost all the Nigerian poets, writers, journalists and playwrights out there.

He has sponsored prizes in literature such as:

• The Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa won by Nigeria's Sefi Atta for her book titled "Everything Good Will Come" - she won a whooping $20,000

• The Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting on Human Rights Issues in Nigeria won by Bayo Ewuoso of The Punch. Some pictures of the winners and runners-up below (click to enlarge):

Personally, I am extremely proud of Nigeria in terms of literature as we are by a great feat the best in West Africa and the entire continent.

To name a few achievements:

• Shola Oshunkeye was awarded the 2006 CNN African Journalist Award for his article, "Niger's Graveyard of the Living."
• The Late Ezenwa Ohaeto won the NLNG Nigeria Literature Prize for his poetry collection, Chants of a Minstrel a few weeks before he died here in England.
• Diana Omo Evans won last year's inaugural £10,000 Orange Prize for New Writers with her debut novel about a set of twins, 26a.

• The book also won a Betty Trask award & Decibel Award and received a nomination for the Guardian First Book Award.
• Writer of Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was short-listed for the Caine Prize for African Writing. She won the O. Henry Award for Short Fiction 2003.
• Her short stories were also selected for the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC awards and they also won the PEN USA Center short story competition.
• 18-year old Onyeka George Nwelue began to write at the age of eleven and won the THOMSON Short Story Prize in 2000 (at the age of twelve) with "Chants of a Poet"
• He was nominated as the International Library of Poetry Best Poet of 2005, and won the Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Silver Bowl and the 2004 Afro Poet of the Year. He is presently both the founder and editor of Flames magazine and BritNig Poetry Club, based in Lagos, Nigeria and Wales, UK.
• He also delivered the paper under the title, ‘The Trends of Contemporary Nigerian Literature’ at the Youth Literary Seminar, which recently took place at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

I think I'll stop here today and come back with a part two sometime this week.