Education
143 Drama Entries Jostle for NLNG $100,000 Prize
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), has announced that 143 entries were received for the 2023 edition to compete for a top prize of $100,000.
This is a 61 per cent increase in entries for the Drama cycle against 89 entries in the last Drama cycle in 2018.
The prize rotates yearly amongst four literary categories of prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature.
The General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr Andy Odeh, has handed over the entries to the Chair of the Prize’s Advisory Board, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, who, in turn, handed over the entries to the judges.
The Advisory Board also handed over 13 entries for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism.
Speaking on the entries received for the 2023 edition of the prize, Mr Odeh expressed confidence in the judges and advisory board and emphasised the importance of the dedicated website for the three prizes – The Nigeria Prize for Literature, the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, and the Nigeria Prize for Science – being the only platform for information regarding the prizes, winners, and the adjudication process.
“The Prize serves as a stimulus for Nigerian writers to strive for excellence, and we are proud to see an increase in entries this year for drama. We believe that through this Prize, we are promoting Nigerian literature and encouraging the growth of the literary industry in the country. We are confident that the judges and Advisory Board will do due diligence to produce a verdict based on merit and excellence, and we hope to see a worthy winner of the Prize at the end of the cycle,” he said.
Professor Ameh Dennis Akoh chairs the panel of judges for this year’s Literature and Literary Criticism competition. Professor Akoh is a Professor of Drama and Critical Theory at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State.
He has over 50 publications in refereed local and international journals and books. He is the former Editor of the Nigerian Journal of Indigenous Knowledge and Development, Nigerian Theatre Journal (NTJ), Co-editor of African Nebula, and the UNIOSUN College of Humanities Monograph Series (2009-2016).
Other panel members include Professor Osita Catherine Ezenwanebe and Dr Rasheedah Liman. Professor Ezenwanebe is a professor of Creative Arts at the University of Lagos. She has written and produced several full-length plays. Dr Liman is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State.
Professor Victor K. Yankah from the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, serves as the International Consultant for the 2023 edition of the Prize.
Other members of the Advisory Board are Prof. Olu Obafemi and Prof. Ahmed Yerima.
In her remarks, Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo emphasised the importance of literature in driving development in Nigeria.
“Literature is a powerful tool that can drive development in our society. As we begin the adjudication process for this year’s Nigeria Prize for Literature, I urge the judges to use this opportunity to elevate literature and bring it to the forefront of the development discourse in Nigeria. The entries we have received are a testament to the vibrant literary scene in the country, and we hope to see a winner that truly represents the best of Nigerian literature,” she stated.
Past winners in the Drama category included Ahmed Yerima (2005) for his play, Hard Ground; Esiaba Irobi (2010) who clinched the prize posthumously with his book Cemetery Road; Professor Sam Ukala (2014) with his play, Iredi War; and Soji Cole with his book, Embers, (2018).
Education
Mine Bitcoin and Dogecoin for Free With DL Mining! UK Compliance Platform Officially Opened
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Education
Prodigy Finance Unveils NovaGrad AI-enabled Planning Tool for Students
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform giving LATAM and African students a clearer path to global universities known as NovaGrad has been launched by Prodigy Finance.
This tool allows users to plan their study-abroad journeys with confidence. The goal is to give every ambitious student the clarity, guidance, and confidence they need regardless of their background.
Many students still face steep tuition fees, shifting visa rules, complex admissions processes and limited access to reliable information.
The initiative has been created to make those first steps clearer and easier to manage. As interest grows across LATAM and Africa, universities have also stepped into the mission, recognising that students who arrive prepared are far more likely to succeed.
The platform is an AI-enabled planning tool that supports students throughout their study-abroad journey. It helps them explore courses, compare universities, understand their financial options and prepare strong, clear applications.
Students can research programmes across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and many other countries, understand what each university expects and organise their plans in one place.
With visa policies evolving globally, students can also turn to the platform to make sense of timelines, documentation and opportunities in newer destinations.
The tool supports students as they prepare to apply for university and their student visa. The platform helps them understand each step of the process and gives them the confidence to submit a strong, well-planned application.
“2025 has been one of our strongest years yet. We launched several scholarship programmes globally, and the interest from students across Africa and LATAM was remarkable.
“Even though each cycle can only support a small number of winners, our recent Prodigy Finance Awards granted close to $40,000 to eight international students, including learners from Africa and Mexico. It became clear that we needed a broader solution for this region,” the Global Chief Business Officer at Prodigy Finance, Ms Sonal Kapoor, said.
”After nearly a year of work, we have launched a platform where students can explore multiple scholarship options, receive guidance on choosing universities and prepare their statements of purpose with confidence. That is why we built this service.
“It gives learners clarity about their choices and helps them plan their journey with purpose. This isn’t the kind of AI that replaces talent, it’s the kind that helps students unlock it,” she added.
Also commenting, the Head of Acquisition Strategy at Prodigy Finance and spokesperson for NovaGrad, Ms Mariana Alcocer, said, “I grew up in Colombia, and I know what it feels like to want something bigger than the place you grew up in.
“Many students across LATAM and Africa carry that same determination. They are ambitious and ready to work hard, yet the path in front of them isn’t always clear. The platform gives students the kind of guidance I wish I had in the past, a place where your options make sense and you don’t feel lost or alone.”
“Students aren’t looking for shortcuts. They want clarity. They want to know which universities align with their goals and how to present a strong application.
“The service brings all of that into one space. When students have the right tools, they move from doubt to confidence. That shift is exactly what the platform is built for,” she noted.
Prodigy Finance, a popular brand known for funding international students, has helped more than 45,000 masters students from 150 countries and has disbursed over $2.3 billion in funding.
Education
Human Rights Watch Urges FG to Protect Schools from Attacks
By Adedapo Adesanya
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Nigerian government to secure the safe release of students and teachers recently kidnapped in the country’s northwest and take concrete steps to protect schools and communities from further attacks.
In a statement on Tuesday, the rights body said, “The groups responsible for the kidnappings should immediately release the students and teachers they are holding captive.”
On November 18, 2025, over 20 schoolgirls were kidnapped by unidentified armed men from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi state.
Just three days later, on November 21, about 303 students and 12 teachers were kidnapped at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger state.
“These mass school kidnappings once again lay bare the deliberate targeting of students, teachers, and schools in Nigeria’s deteriorating security environment,” said Ms Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The deepening crisis underscores the government’s failure to protect vulnerable communities.”
Human Rights Watch said it spoke with parents of two of the girls abducted in Kebbi state. Mrs Isa Nazifi, whose 13-year-old daughter Khadija Nazifi, a junior secondary school student, was among those abducted.
“I immediately took a motorbike and rushed to the school, where I found my second daughter, also a student at the school. She told me Khadija had been taken. We are extremely worried. My wife is in tears. I will stay here at the school until my daughter returns. If I go home without her, what will I tell my family?”
Also, Mr Sani Zimri, whose daughter, Salima Sani Zimri, is a senior secondary school student who was also abducted, said he had heard rumors from other parents of a possible attack by bandits the week before the incident.
“We developed confidence after seeing military operatives surveilling the area, only to realize that there were no security operatives on the premises for the entire three hours that the incident occurred,” he was quoted in a statement by HRW.
The rights group also noted that the development was not new and dates back as far as 2014 and has been occuring with successive governments.
Human Rights Watch said Nigerian authorities have failed to apply lessons from previous attacks to create early warning systems and other measures that could prevent these atrocities.
In response to the recent kidnappings, the government has promised to rescue the kidnapped students and hold those responsible accountable. President Bola Tinubu directed security agencies to act swiftly to bring the girls back while also urging local communities to share intelligence.
The authorities have also shut down 47 federal secondary schools known as Federal Unity Colleges, and some states including Katsina, Taraba, and Niger have also closed schools or restricted school activities, particularly boarding institutions.
The rights group lamented that while these measures are aimed at protecting students, they have disrupted learning for thousands of children, denying them access to education and the social and psychological support schools provide.
“Without concrete measures to provide alternative learning opportunities to ensure continuity in their education, the students are at risk of falling behind academically and facing long term setbacks in their development,” the statement added.
It explains that since Nigeria is a signatory to the Safe Schools Declaration, the government should move with urgency to advance a proposal to introduce legislation to implement the Safe Schools Declaration.
“Children in Nigeria have the right to go to school without fearing for their lives,” Ms Ewang said. “Nigerian authorities should prioritize the safe release of the kidnapped children and their teachers and bring those responsible for their abduction to justice.”
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