Nigerian author and cultural storyteller Oyindamola Olugbile has won the 2025 Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), claiming the prestigious $100,000 award ahead of fellow finalists Chigozie Obioma and Nikki May.
The Advisory Board for the Prize, chaired by Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, announced the winner at the award ceremony held on Friday night in Lagos.
Olugbile clinched the prize with her debut novel, Sanya — a story that explores love, loss, and redemption within a mystical empire that captivates even the Òrìṣà. She beat Obioma’s The Road to the Country and May’s This Motherless Land.
A graduate of the University of Lagos, Olugbile also holds postgraduate certificates from Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School Online, and the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG). She earned an MSc from King’s College London and works as a Social Impact Management Consultant. She is also the Chief Curator of the Experience Factory, an education enterprise that curates out-of-classroom learning experiences for young people.
Prof. Adimora-Ezeigbo described the 2025 competition as one of the most challenging yet:
“Each work distinguishes itself through masterful plotting, characterisation, and language that transports readers into imagined worlds. These are not merely stories; they are carefully woven realities that compel and inspire,” she said.
She added that the jury’s task was “daunting and unprecedented,” noting that the quality of entries stretched their judgment “to the limit.”
The 2024 edition was won by Olubunmi Familoni for his novel The Road Does Not End.
In his remarks, NLNG’s Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, said the Prize celebrates the enduring power of literature to shape identity and deepen understanding.
“Winning the Prize means scaling the highest heights of literature. All the shortlisted books are of the highest calibre,” he said.
Mshelbila also announced that the Nigeria Prize for Science would be renamed The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation, reflecting NLNG’s belief in the synergy between creativity, technology, and progress.
He further revealed that NLNG would retire the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism and introduce a new category — The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, focusing on documentary film to inspire a new generation of storytellers.
On Nigeria’s energy future, Mshelbila noted that Africa requires over $200 billion annually to meet its climate and development goals, adding that Nigeria must lead this transformation.
“Train 7, now over 80 per cent complete, is a $10 billion demonstration of what happens when policy, planning, investment, and execution align,” he said.
He also unveiled Voices of Our Leaders, a commemorative book marking NLNG’s 35th anniversary, chronicling the company’s journey and the voices that shaped its evolution.
Delivering the keynote address, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, commended the achievements celebrated at the event but urged reflection on Nigeria’s broader developmental goals.
He revealed that there was no winner for the 2025 Nigeria Prize for Science under the theme “Innovations in ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development.”
“This is a reminder that without innovation, Nigeria cannot compete in a digital future,” he said.
Alausa called for greater investment in science, AI, and digital technologies, while urging Nigerians to nurture both science and the arts as engines for inclusive and sustainable development.
