2019 winner of NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature, Jude Idada has said that money is not his main target in the literary world as he won $100,000 in this year’s award.
In an interview made available to Igberetv, Jude said, âMoney itself can be a stumbling block. It could be a limitation. For me, itâs just a means to an end, itâs not the end in itself. I am happy I won the NLNG literature prize. I am glad I had a platform to push my work and to get to places it didnât get to before. My name somehow, not because of vain glory, but my name somehow resonates where it is supposed to resonate.”
Last week Friday, Idada was announced winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature in a ceremony at Abuja. He won in this yearâs Childrenâs Literature category for his book âBoom Boomâ, about Osaik, an eight-year-old boy whose world is thrown into disarray when his mother dies from a debilitating disease.
The Nigerian Prize for Literature is an annual prize worth $100,00 which rotates around childrenâs literature, prose, poetry and drama. This yearâs panel of judges chaired by poet, editor, and University of Ibadanâs Prof. Obododinma Oha, included Prof. Asabe Usman Kabir from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Dr. Patrick Okolo of University of Lagos. The Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature had in July announced the shortlist of 11 drawn from 173 books and in September Idadaâs âBoom Boomâ, Dunni Olatundeâs âMystery at Ebenezer Lodgeâ and O.T. Beghoâs âThe Great Walls of Beninâ made it to the final shortlist. Last yearâs winner in the drama category was Soji Cole for his book, âEmbers
The Nigeria Prize For Literature which is sponsored in Nigeria by Liquefied Natural Gas company (NLNG), was started in 2004 to honour Nigerian authors.
