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The Nigeria Prize
for Literature, endowed by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), was
recently put under scrutiny in Lagos. The NLNG, sponsors of the
programme, invited groups and individuals from across the country who
have things to say about Literature. From writers’ bodies, teachers,
literary enthusiasts, and publishers, they all came to put the prize
under scrutiny.

At the start of the
deliberations, one of the participants pointed out that the Literature
Prize has made the NLNG come under the searchlight of many. He was of
the opinion that the other prize, Science, has not generated as much
furore as Literature because writers by nature are people who have
varied ideas about what excellence means. That is, excellence, like
beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.

In calling the
participants together to consider the place of the prize in the country
and in the literary world, Siene Allwell-Brown, general manager,
external relations, of the NLNG, said the forum was convened to distil
the opinion of stakeholders in the sector because the company wants to
make the Nigeria Literature Prize the “best and the biggest for
rewarding excellence” not only in Nigeria, but in Africa and also one of
the best administered prizes in the world.

A tall order, but
there is no harm in trying, they all agreed. They felt it was good
enough to let the world know that something good and creative can come
out of Nigeria, especially when many have won laurels in Literature,
both at home and abroad.

Soul searching

Ms. Allwell-Brown
observed, “We believe it is time enough to ask some pertinent questions.
In the eight years of its existence, would we say that the prize
definitely lived up to this billing? Has it presented a large enough
canvas for writers, publishers, editors, book sellers, literary critics,
and journalists to paint their dreams? Has it made excellence its prime
guiding principle and have the aspirations, yearnings and dreams of the
stakeholders in promoting excellence in writing and publishing been
met? Has the prize been administered in a fair and transparent manner?”

This set the tone
for the deliberations which was chaired by Ayo Banjo, former vice
chancellor of the University of Ibadan, an Emeritus Professor.

According to him,
the Prize has come a long way and he believed that the stakeholders’
forum would serve as a medium to further advance it beyond its present
ken. He urged the stakeholders to deliberate and ensure that the prize
remains prestigious and “command the respect of Nigerians and one that
can be a model for the rest of the world to emulate.”

Jerry Agada,
president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), said the forum
was good because it would help to shape Nigerian Literature better and
place it in its right place. In setting the pattern for the discussion,
Ifeanyi Mbanefo, manager, corporate communications and public affairs of
the NLNG, traced the origin of the prize to 2003 when it was conceived.
He stressed the need for this, so as to look back and see if it has
achieved its purpose and if it had, how to make it better.

Some recommendations

One of the ways to
gauge this was the engagement of a corporate governance expert who
analysed the administrative procedure of the prize and made some useful
recommendations on how to make its administration more useful,
effective, and transparent.

Deji Toye, a
consultant with Lodt Governance Centre, Lagos, in reviewing the
management structure of the prize, recommended, among others, that: the
Award should remain in its present form (The Nigeria Prize for
Literature) and not a ‘Prize for the Humanities’, as currently being
canvassed for by some.

He also recommended
that instead of the present Literature Committee, an Advisory Board
should be constituted. This is to be made up of carefully selected group
of stakeholders, appointed by organisations/institutions in the
industry.

He suggested that
the associations to make nominations should be: Association of Nigerian
Authors, Nigerian Academy of Letters, and National Library of Nigeria;
while a senior executive from the corporate affairs department of NLNG
is to serve as secretary of the committee and head of the secretariat.
This, according to Mr. Toye, would help reduce administrative costs.

Perhaps, one of the
most debated recommendations was the one that says any year no work
among those submitted was found good enough to win the grand $50,000,
“the money should be donated to a charity that is active in the
promotion of the literary arts or the money returned to source.”

For instance, the prize that went to the Nigeria Academy of Letters would not have gone to it the year it was not awarded.

No consensus

A few of the issues
raised at the forum were widely debated but a consensus, as it is in a
gathering of writers, was hard to arrive at.

However, this did
not in any way diminish the importance or the essence of the forum,
because all those involved in the business of Literature – writers,
publishers, critics, readers, distributors, and publishers – were able
to sit together and reason as important links in a chain.

Publishers were able
to air their views about how they felt left out of the scheme, with all
attention focused on writers and not others who help to make the end
product get to the consumers.

The forum was
attended by groups and organisations in the literary community. These
included Association of Nigerian Authors; Nigeria Academy of Letters;
Nigeria Publishers Association; Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists;
and Abuja Writers Forum. Others represented were Arts Writers
Organisation of Nigeria; Women Writers Association; and Committee for
Relevant Arts.

At least three past winners of the prize were also there: Gabriel
Okara (poetry), Ahmed Yerima (drama), and Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
(novelist).