Oyin Olugbile Wins 2025 Nigeria Prize for Literature with Sanya as NLNG introduces new Creative Arts category

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Emeritus Professor Olu Obafemi, member, The Nigeria Prize for Literature (NPL) Advisory Board; Philip Mshelbila, NLNG MD; Oyin Olugbile, Author of 'Sanya' and NPL 2025 winner; Mr Olugbile; and Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo at the award of the $100,000 The Nigeria Prize for Literature to Olugbile.


Oyin Olugbile has won the 2025 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature with her novel Sanya, claiming one of Africa’s most prestigious literary honours, valued at $100,000.


The announcement was made at the NLNG Grand Award Night in Lagos on Friday, October 10, by the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Prize, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, who described Sanya as a daring reimagining of Yoruba mythology that “casts Sango as a female and projects a fantastical world through lucid and captivating storytelling.”


The 2025 competition attracted 252 entries in the prose fiction category. Other finalists were The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma and This Motherless Land by Nikki May.


Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo said the three shortlisted works reflected an improvement in the quality of local publishing, but the board ultimately found Sanya to have “a slight edge” for its creativity and accessible narrative style.


The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, worth $10,000, was awarded to Dr. Okwudiri Anasiudu for his essays: Afropolitan Identity and Afrodiasporic Otherness in Selected African Novels; Allegorical Conjectures in Helon Habila’s Measuring Time; and Mimetic Designs in Helon Habila’s Oil on Water.


In his address, NLNG Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, highlighted the enduring power of literature to shape national identity. 


He announced that the Nigeria Prize for Science will henceforth be known as the Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation, reflecting the company’s belief in the fusion of creativity and technology.


Dr. Mshelbila also unveiled plans to introduce a new prize category, The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, beginning with Documentary Film, to inspire a new generation of storytellers. 


The Prize for Literary Criticism will be rested to make way for the new category.


During the event, Mshelbila launched Voices of Our Leaders, a commemorative book chronicling NLNG’s 30-year journey and leadership milestones. 


He also gave an update on Train 7, noting that the $10 billion project is over 80% complete and a testament to Nigeria’s capacity for coordinated industrial growth.


Delivering the keynote address, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, commended NLNG’s contributions to education, science, and the arts. 


He, however, noted that the Nigeria Prize for Science produced no winner this year under the theme “Innovations in ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development,” calling it a reminder of the urgent need for greater national investment in innovation and digital technologies.


The Nigeria Prize for Literature, Science, and now Creative Arts, remain NLNG’s flagship initiatives to promote excellence and inspire a sustainable future for Nigeria.



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