Olugbile emerged winner with her critically acclaimed novel Sanya, beating two other formidable finalists—Chigozie Obioma’s The Road to the Country and Nikki May’s This Motherless Land. The author walked away with the prize’s $100,000 cash award, reaffirming the competition’s status as Africa’s most prestigious literary honour.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, rotates annually among four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature. The 2025 cycle, themed “Inspire,” focused on prose fiction and attracted submissions from across the country and the diaspora.
Announcing the winner, the Chair of the Advisory Board, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, praised the quality of the entries and lauded the resilience and creativity of Nigerian writers. She described the finalists as “exceptional,” noting that each work distinguished itself through “masterful plotting, strong characterisation, and a command of language that transports readers into imagined worlds.”
“These are not merely stories,” she added, “they are carefully woven realities—compelling in their beauty, stirring in emotional resonance, and unflinching in their engagement with familiar yet urgent societal issues. This cycle has been one of the most competitive yet, with every entry displaying an impressive level of excellence that stretched our judgement to the limit.”
Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo, who leads the board alongside Emeritus Professor Olu Obafemi and Professor Ahmed Yerima, expressed gratitude to all the authors who submitted works for consideration, describing their creativity as “inspiring.” She also commended the judging panel for their meticulous and uncompromising evaluation process.
This year’s panel of judges was chaired by Associate Professor Saeedat Bolajoko Aliyu of the Department of English, Kwara State University, Malete. Other members included Professor Stephen Mbanefo Ogene, Professor of Comparative Literature at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and Mr. Olakunle Kasumu, writer, filmmaker, and host of Channels Television’s Book Club.
In their report, the judges described Sanya as “a fascinating novel,” praising its arresting cover design, fast-paced plot, and the author’s ability to sustain intrigue from start to finish. “The shortlist represents the best of Nigerian prose writing,” they noted, “exploring culturally relevant themes and telling stories that are exciting, entertaining, and instructive.”
Olugbile’s win adds her name to an illustrious list of past laureates who have shaped the trajectory of Nigerian literature through the NLNG Prize—one of the continent’s most significant platforms for celebrating literary excellence.
The ceremony, attended by writers, scholars, industry figures, and literary enthusiasts, not only celebrated Olugbile’s achievement but also reinforced the continuing vitality of Nigerian storytelling on the global stage.