Nigeria. Belgium-based writer wins $100,000 literature prize

Belgium-based Nigerian writer, Chika Unigwe, got a big break on Thursday when she was named winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature.

Her novel, On Black Sister’s Street, beat the two others shortlisted for the prize established in 2004 by the Nigeria LNG.

These are Only a Canvas by Olusola Olugbesan and Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter by Ngozi Achebe, a niece to foremost writer, Prof. Chinua Achebe.

With the victory, Unigwe, who had won the BBC Short Story Competition in 2004, has become $100,000 richer, following in the footsteps of Adeleke Adeyemi, who won it last year.

The Chairman of the prize’s Board, Emeritus Professor  Ayo Banjo, announced Unigwe as the winner in Lagos at a press conference, based on the verdict of the jury led by Prof. Abiola Irele.

 Although Unigwe was not at the event, since it was not yet the presentation day, a message she sent from her base indicates that she is pleasantly surprised, while the feat has re-assured her that she is on the right path as a writer.

She notes, “I am humbled by this win. I have read some of the writers on the long list of 10 and admired their works, and so to come this far with my book is incredibly humbling. I am honoured as well.

“For a writer who constantly doubts her abilities, this is validation for me that maybe I am doing something right.  To win especially with this book, a book that taught me a lot about myself, is gratifying.”

In the judges’ comment, they express happiness that the prize has contributed immensely in lifting the writing skills of Nigerians.

They recall, “The Nigeria Prize for Literature was instituted in 2004 by The Nigeria LNG Limited to identify and reward excellence in literature.  The overall objective of the prize is to encourage and stimulate authorship and the development of Nigerian literary culture in terms of creative writing, production and reading, and by so doing guide literary taste.”

For this year, the prize,  which rotates among four literary genres,  attracted 214 entries – the highest ever since the inception of the prize in 2004.

The judges consider quality of editing and production, relevance to the Nigerian situation, vivid presentation of character and plot and use of language as the criteria for looking at the entries.

“While an initial shortlist was based on such factors as overall packaging and other aesthetic elements, appropriateness of title and year of publication, the panel eventually arrived at an initial shortlist of 22, which was further reduced to 10. A final shortlist of three was eventually announced on  October 9.

The judges say, “By coincidence, the three novels deal with issues concerning the plight of women in the past and in the present. On Black Sisters’ Street is focused specifically on the very precarious situation of women, particularly the issue of sexual slavery. In her depiction of the socio-economic conditions in Nigeria , Unigwe displays grasp of narrative techniques as well as excellent descriptive capabilities.

“The Panel of Judges therefore considers On Black Sisters’ Street  a work of outstanding merit and adjudges it the winning entry for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2012.”

But the panel expresses worry that poor quality of production is still a fundamental problem affecting Nigerian literature.  According to the verdict, some of the entries would have stood a better chance of winning the prize but were marred by problems attendant upon poor publishing.

They add, “Some of the books submitted for this year’s prize failed to rise to the final stage because of issues such as poor editing, proof –reading, poor binding and other publishing errors. Nigerian publishers ought to realise that this prize is an international one.”

Other members of the panel are  Professors  Angela Miri,  Sophia Ogwude,   Nwachukwu-Agbada and Dr. Oyeniyi Okunoye.

Also on the Advisory Board are Prof.  Ben Elugbe and Dr. Jerry Agada.

Born  in 1974, Unigwe has a Ph.D in Literature from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Her  first novel,De Feniks, was published in 2005 and was shortlisted for the Vrouw en Kultuur debuutprijs for the best first novel by a female writer. She is also the author of two children’s books published by Macmillan, London.

She has published short fiction in several anthologies, journals and magazines including Wasafiri (University of London), Moving Worlds (University of Leeds), Per Contra, Voices of the University of Wisconsin and Okike of the University of Nigeria.

In 2003, Unigwe was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing. In 2004, she won the BBC Short story Competition and a Commonwealth Short Story Competition award. In the same year, her short story made the top 10 of the Million Writers Award for best online fiction.

-          In 2005, she won the 3rd prize in the Equiano Fiction Contest. Her second novel, Fata Morgana, was published in Dutch in 2008 and will soon be released in English. Her first novel, De Feniks, was published in Dutch in September 2005 and it is the first book of fiction, written by a Flemish author of African origin. In 2009, Chika Unigwe’s novel On Black Sisters’ Street, about African prostitutes living and working in Belgium, was published in London by Jonathan Cape. She lives in Turnhout, Belgium.