Familoni Olubunmi, author of “The Road Does Not End”, has emerged winner of the 2024 edition of the NLNG’s $100,000 Literature Prize.
Familoni was announced winner on Friday night at a colourful ceremony held Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
The Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, accompanied by other members of the Advisory Board, Profs Olu Obafemi and Ahmed Yerima, adjudged Familoni’s “The Road Does Not End” winner of the award at the Nigeria LNG Grand Award night tagged, “The Future”
Announcing the winner, Prof Ezeigbo commended the NLNG for instituting and sustaining the prizes for 20 years. She also commended the finalists of the Nigeria Prize for Literature competition for submitting “Well written, edited and produced books.”
The Nigeria Prize for Literature award alternates among four literary genres: fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature. This year, the focus was on children’s literature.
Olubunmi Familoni beat two other shortlisted books by Ndidi Chiazo-Eneamor and Uche Peter Umez.
The Advisory Board for the Nigeria Prize for Literature gave reasons why his book made the final list.
They said, “The Road Does Not End addresses the critical issue of child labour in society. The book explores resilience and human connection themes, emphasising the importance of relationships and the need for continuous self-improvement”.In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG limited, Mr Philip Mshelbila said, authors have written stories that symbolize children as future.
Dr Mshelbila expressed excitement about Nigeria’s prospects in the energy transition journey, particularly with natural gas as an enabler, highlighting NLNG’s support for the Decade of Gas policy.
“In NLNG, we supported the declaration of the Decade of Gas, which the federal Government launched in 2021 to help Nigeria achieve industrialisation, economic prosperity, and tackle energy poverty by using gas as an enabler which aligns with NLNG’s vision to be a globally competitive LNG company helping to build a better Nigeria. I have expressed optimism in several fora that the Decade of Gas policy would enable the country to catch up with the industrialised countries of the world if successfully implemented as planned, while at the same time decarbonizing our ecosystem..
