“Grit,” A Book By Obari Gomba, Wins $100,000 Nigeria Prize For Literature
The Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited, (NLNG), has announced a playwright titled: “Grit,” and authored by Obari Gomba, as the winner of the $100,000 prize for the 2023 cycle on Drama.
Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Chairperson of the Advisory Board, made the announcement at the Grand Award Night ceremony in Lagos, yesterday, October 13. The occasion was themed: “Redefinition.”
She also announced Eyoh Asuquo Etim’s entry: “Herstory versus ‘History’: A motherist rememory in Akachi Ezeigbo’s “The Last of the Strong Ones” and Chimamanda Adichie’s “Half of a Yellow Sun” as the 2023 winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, which comes with $10,000 prize money.
The winning book beat two other books on the Shortlist of Three: “The Ojuelegba Crossroads” by Abideen Abolaji Ojomu and “Yamtarawala – The Warrior King” by Henry Akubuiro. The book competed against 143 plays submitted for the competition in 2023.
Professor Hippolite Amadi, the 2023 winner of The Nigeria Prize for Science, sponsored by NLNG, was also awarded the prize money of $100,000 for his ground-breaking work on respiratory technologies for keeping Nigerian new-born babies alive. He was announced the winner in September by the Advisory Board, led by Professor Barth Nnaji.
In his welcome address, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, said that the theme for the event: “Re-definition” emphasised the need for redefinition in a rapidly changing world, characterised by pandemics, geopolitical events, climate change, technological advancements, and more.
He said that redefinition involved looking at things in new ways, whether at a national, communal, or personal level, which often begins with re-evaluation, re-assessment and revision of established positions.
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 decarbonising our ecosystem.
“Our bid for redefinition is further contextualised through the sponsorship of the Nigeria Prizes: the Nigeria Prize for Science, Literature, and Literary Criticism.
“This year, the theme of the science prize is Innovation for Enhancement of Healthcare Therapy.
“We need our people to be in their best form—physically, mentally, and emotionally—to tap into the wealth attainable through Nigeria’s reasoned potential. Likewise, the genre for the 2023 NLNG Prize for Literature is drama. As is apparent, drama has an adept way of communicating themes and messages for our deeper reflection.”
Speaking on the theme of the event, the Special Guest of Honour, His Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II, said that the theme transcends science and literature, and that it was time for Nigeria to redefine itself.
“We often lament our image, but what have we done to change it? When will we celebrate scientists like Professor Amadi?
“NLNG is shedding light on such individuals, and I hope more Nigerians will do the same. This is the essence of redefinition.
“We just listened to Professor Amadi. What I like about the speech is that in his work, he’s looking at the human being at the end of his work.
“I have always told people that one of the best ways to get value out of your life, out of your career and out of your position is to try from the beginning to figure out who is the human being at the end of your work.
“If you think of the human being at the end of your work, you will realise how important it is for you to stay alive so those human beings work.
“So the question is this: is it not time for our public office holders to redefine their roles and start thinking of the human being at the end of their actions?
“Is it not time to start asking that when you are made a public officer, after four years or after eight years, can you honestly look at yourself and say that you have positively impacted the lives of millions of Nigerians?
“You don’t know their faces or names, but you are thinking of the human being.
“Hippolite Amadi, the winner of the Nigeria Prizes for Science, does not know the names of the mothers of the babies he saved.
“He does not know. But he is telling you that he has an innovation that can reduce the mortality rate of newborns in Nigeria.
“He does not need to know the names of those people to know that his work has value to define himself.
“He has defined himself as somebody whose work is aimed at saving life.”
He said that NLNG has the potential to redefine the Nigerian economy by helping the country transition from oil to gas, which could cut energy costs by 50% to 60% in the country, significantly impacting inflation, people’s livelihoods, and the nation as a whole.
According to Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo, the winning book, Grit, is a dramatic journey into the destructive impact of soul-less politics of power and profit which brings out the beast in man.
She said that the play builds the motivations for the actions of every character in a lifelike manner “with apt characterisation and purposeful manipulation of plot and conflict. The play is filled with conflicts that create the mood of the inevitability of tragedy and the language is full of twists that entertain in the midst of pain.”
Dr. Chris Murray, Director of IHME, said that Professor Abubakar embodies exactly what the Roux Prize represents: innovation, ambition, collaboration.
IDP Camp No Longer Exist In Yobe State, By Ali Musa Yawale
In the 12 years since Boko Haram started as a terrorist insurgency in the Northeast sub-region, millions of people have been affected in many ways, big and small. This is a well-known fact.
Also well-known is the fact that in the wake of Boko Haram’s relentless attacks on communities before the insurgent group was significantly subdued by the security forces, many people were forced from their homes. Among these were some who settled with near relatives; those who settled in host communities, such as in Kuka-Reta town on the outskirts of Damaturu metropolis; and those who initially lived in IDP camps.
However, it’s been many years since official IDP camps were closed in Yobe State. This is because many of the people in those IDP camps were helped by the state government and by development partners to return to their communities or, in some cases, to fully settle in their respective host communities.
There were a few exceptions to this, however. There were situations where former IDPs, earlier displaced from their communities, decided to take up residence in newly sprung neighborhoods on the outskirts of the state capital. Many of those people simply engage in their individual vocations or activities every day.
Some engage in farming or operate as farm workers while others engage in menial jobs and small businesses to support their families. Among those living close to the Yobe State University, for instance, there are some who have even set up shops or stalls on campus and engage in their legitimate small businesses.
But among this category of initially displaced persons, there are also some who required food handouts. The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), having reckoned with that, periodically provides food and other non-food-item-support to these people.
The Yobe SEMA, one of the most notable and active in the country, has a well-documented inventory of supporting these people and other IDPs affected by disasters or conflicts. Anyone seeking to know more can visit SEMA’s different handles on social media to see photos, videos, notes and actual testimonies of people who had benefited from the agency’s support among vulnerable and affected communities throughout the state.
Yobe SEMA’s wide-ranging interventions are testament to the commitment of Governor Mai Mala Buni to help people in need and to ensure that people affected by the Boko Haram insurgency can reclaim their lives and build a future for themselves and their families.
Last week, the United Nations Resident Representative and UNDP Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Yahya visited Yobe State and offered to assist the state government in its resettlement, reconstruction and stabilization effort.
As was widely reported, the UN resident representative and his team, along with Governor Mai Mala Buni and other Yobe government officials, travelled to Mallam Dunari ward in Gujba local government area, the one and only remaining ward in the state where initially displaced people have yet to return, after being displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The UNDP coordinator promised that the United Nations will help the Yobe State Government to resettle the Mallam Dunari people back in their communities in a dignified manner.
Anyone following the trajectory of effort of the Mai Mala Buni administration with regards to IDPs affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, therefore, knows that providing humanitarian support to people affected by conflict has been and still remains front and center of the administration’s humanitarian interventions.
This is why I find a recent news report by Premium Times titled “Yobe IDPs: Displaced by Boko Haram, Abandoned by Government, Ravaged by hunger” not only wildly out of context but demonstrably misleading and mischievous.
First, there is no question that to this day, people remain significantly impacted by Boko Haram. It will take probably many years before the impacts of the insurgency can be wiped off people’s lives in the BAY states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. But the idea that the Abbari camp in Damaturu, where the Premium Times report was focused “is among 445 displaced sites in the state” is totally false.
Abbari area has been in existence in the state capital for many years. But the area has expanded recently when people initially displaced by the Boko Haram conflict decided on their own to take residence in the area. It’s therefore not an IDP camp although people who were previously IDP now live in the area.
The Premium Times report essentially focused on two women affected by the conflict. But our checks revealed that many of the portrayals of those women were hyped or downright false. One of them, paradoxically, currently owns a stall at the Yobe State University campus and engages in small business.
“That woman cannot be taken to a police station over N1 million”, someone who knows about her said. Even if this (financial chest) is not the case, the idea that the woman has a stall on campus at the Yobe State University and goes there everyday to engage in her small business belies the submissions about her condition in the Premium Times report.
While I agree that the media have a constitutional license to hold government accountable to the people, that cannot be at the expense of the truth, facts and context – and that while opinions are free, facts are (and must remain) sacred.
The Buni administration does not have an unlimited war chest to attend to all the challenges that the Boko Haram insurgency has thrown. But there is no question that within the limits of available resources – and the support of development partners, the administration continues to do well in offering succor and support to those most in need. I believe this will remain the case to the end of the administration’s term in office.
Yawale is head of information department, Ministry of Home Affairs and Information, Yobe State