Nigeria Content Online

Three
writers have been shortlisted for this year’s edition of The Nigeria
Prize for Literature while the winner of The Nigeria Prize for Science
has emerged.

Former managing
director of Daily Times of Nigeria, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo (‘The Killing
Swamp), the late Esiaba Irobi (‘Cemetery Road’) and scholar, Ahmed
Yerima (‘Little Drops…’), made the final list.

Addressing
journalists on Wednesday at Ocean View Restaurant, Victoria Island,
Lagos, chair, panel of judges of the prize, Dapo Adelugba, disclosed
that an initial 93 entries were received. He said 21 of the works
didn’t meet the eligibility criteria and because of this, only 72 were
assessed.

The professor of
Theatre Arts disclosed that the jury comprising Mary Kolawole, John
Ilah, Kalu Uka and Tanimu Abubakar, also professors, used five main
criteria to judge the works. They are relevance and originality;
compliance with the highest standards of literary and dramatic
production; dramaturgy; setting and linguistic appeal; and stageability.

Earlier, chair of
the Literature Committee, Theo Vincent, noted that the Literature Prize
has developed its own dynamism and momentum. He also spoke on changes
made in the administration of the prize after no winner emerged for the
last edition. Disclosing the identity of the judges and opening up the
prize to all Nigerians irrespective of where they are domiciled were
some of the changes announced by the committee which Vincent heads.

Close scrutiny

Mr Vincent also
thanked the media for its interest in the prize. “We assure you we do
value the close scrutiny of what we are doing,” he said.

Similarly,
Akaehomen Ibhadode, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Benin, has been announced winner of the 2010 Nigeria
Prize for Science.

Mr Ibhadode won the
award for his work entitled ‘Development of New Methods for Precision
Die Design.” Chair of the Science Committee, Oye Ibidapo-Obe, read the
report of the jury comprising Anya O Anya, Awele Maduemezia, Gabriel
Ogunmola, Grace Olaniyan-Taylor and Lateef Salako.

The judges noted
that Mr Ibhadode has made significant contributions to the field of
cold forging. They added that he developed a mathematical model for the
design of forging die based on die expansion methods, an optimal
procedure for the selection of the most effective die design.

“In an
industrialising economy like Nigeria, the products of the precision die
process are particularly important in the development of small and
medium scale enterprises on which the economy depends for its
accelerated growth. He has applied the methods not only for the steel
industry but also for the development of aluminium products,” the
judges said of Ibhadode’s work.

Jonathan Nok won
the science prize last year while nobody won the literature prize. Both
prizes are sponsored by the Nigerian LNG Limited. The winner of the
Literature Prize will be announced at the NLNG Grand Award Night on
October 9.