By Aduragbemi Omiyale

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes, the Obajana Plant of Dangote Cement Plc has distributed some educational materials to some pupils in Kogi State.

The items shared to the beneficiaries included school bags, exercise books, writing materials, water bottles, and other essential learning aids aimed at enhancing the learning experience of the pupils and preparing them for the next academic session.

The General Manager for the Social Performance Department of Dangote Cement at Obajana Plant, Mr Ademola Adeyemi, said the materials were donated days after Dangote Cement distributed similar education materials to pupils in public schools in its catchment communities of Oyo, Iwaa, Obajana and Apata; and commissioned a multi-million-naira hospital in Obajana, which added to the growing list of social investments that includes an earlier hospital project in Iwaa and Oyo Communities.

He noted that, over the years, the company has invested billions of naira in a wide range of social programmes for host communities, including empowerment programmes, road construction, and potable water projects, and it remains resolute in its commitment to sustaining and expanding its interventions.

He noted that the company’s corporate social responsibility programmes are aligned with government development priorities and are implemented through sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships.

“The intervention was informed by findings from a needs assessment conducted by Dangote Cement. During the assessment, it was observed that several pupils attended school without school bags, while others carried their books by hand. It was also discovered that many students lacked essential learning materials such as exercise books, pens, pencils, and other basic learning materials,” the cement firm said.

The Head Teacher of UBE LGEA School, St. Luke Model II, Adankolo, Lokoja Local Government Area, Mr Abubakar Sanni, expressed profound appreciation to the management of Dangote Cement for the gesture.

The Head Teacher expressed gratitude to the Group President of the conglomerate, Aliko Dangote, for extending the company’s educational support programme beyond its host and impacted communities to schools located at the state headquarters.

The beneficiaries, school management, parents, and community stakeholders expressed gratitude to Dangote Cement for the timely intervention and prayed for the continued growth and success of the company in its efforts to improve lives and support sustainable community development.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Prize for Literature has unveiled an 11-title longlist for its 2026 edition, selecting the outstanding poetry collections from a record 223 submissions received for the competition.

This was contained in a press statement signed by General Manager, External Relations & Sustainable Development, Mrs Sophia Horsfall.

The announcement, by the chairman of the Advisory Board for the Prize, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, marks a significant milestone in this year’s competition and reflects the exceptional quality, creativity and diversity of contemporary poetry.

The longlisted titles, arranged alphabetically, are:

1. Adult Love by Tanure Ojaide
2. Bakandimiya by Saddiq Dzukogi
3. Black Passport by Paul Akpomuje
4. 2000 Blacks by Ajibola Tolase
5. Ceremony for The Nameless by Theresa Lola
6. Corpus: Animistic Verses by Ayo Oyeku
1. Floral’s Love Colony by Tares Oburumu
2. The Origin of Wounds by Malik Gbolahan
3. The Years of Blood by Adebayo Agarau
4. Unbind Me Now by James Ugwu Eze
5. Why Does God Need a Gun by Ogaga Ifowodo

Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo described the announcement as an important stage in the 2026 edition of arguably Africa’s biggest and most prestigious literary Prize.

She noted that the collections demonstrate the remarkable capacity of poetry to illuminate human experience through thoughtful reflection, cultural memory and artistic expression.

The academic added that the works revisit history while interrogating dominant historical narratives and exposing the forces that shape collective identities and social relations.

She stated that despite their varied emphases, the books share a commitment to exploring the endurance of individuals and communities in the face of violence, oppression, and social fragmentation.

Commenting on style and language, she said the books display an impressive diversity of poetic techniques marked by lyrical intensity, symbolic depth, and artistic innovation.

“Many employ densely poetic, allegorical, and elegiac modes that invite multiple layers of interpretation, while others draw extensively on folklore, oral traditions, and contemporary realities to create a compelling fusion of past and present. Their language is generally fluid, evocative, and aesthetically refined, relying on vivid imagery, emotional resonance, and intellectual sophistication to communicate complex ideas. These works demonstrate how poetic language can illuminate social realities, challenge established perspectives, and give voice to both individual and collective experiences.

“The next stage will demand a closer reading of each work, with attention to language, form, originality and lasting literary value,” she stated.

She also commended the judges for their work and reaffirmed the Advisory Board’s commitment to a credible process, literary excellence and the promotion of a strong reading culture.

The announcement of the 11-title longlist formally opens the next phase of the shortlist of three in August and the possible announcement of the winner in October.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by NLNG, carries a cash award of $100,000 for the author of the winning book. In its 22nd year, the prize rotates annually across four genres – prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature – with the 2026 edition devoted to poetry.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has slashed the fees for the assessment and ranking of textbooks ahead of the implementation of the National Textbook Ranking Policy scheduled to commence in September 2026.

The reduction, approved through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), was aimed at easing the financial burden on publishers and authors while facilitating compliance with the new national textbook quality assurance framework.

The decision comes ahead of the implementation of the National Textbook Ranking Policy introduced by the Minister of Education, Mr Tunji Alausa, to improve the quality and standardisation of instructional materials used in schools across the country.

Announcing the development in a statement on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Mr Salisu Shehu, said the assessment fee had been reduced from N2,000 to N1,500 per page, while the ranking fee for each textbook title had been cut from N1 million to N750,000.

He said the revised fees take immediate effect and apply to all publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment and ranking.

Mr Shehu also disclosed that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of N2,000 per page would receive refunds of the excess payments, adding that details of the refund process would be announced in due course.

He urged all stakeholders in the publishing industry to comply with the new fee regime.

“Under the policy, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be approved for use in Nigerian classrooms from September 2026, while unranked textbooks will no longer be permitted,” he said.

Meanwhile, the minister explained that the initiative was designed to tackle the proliferation of textbooks in schools and ensure that teachers and learners have access to high-quality, curriculum-compliant instructional materials.

The minister restated that NERDC will continue to exercise its statutory responsibility of approving textbooks for use in schools, but that approval alone would no longer be sufficient under the new policy.

“Instead, every approved textbook will undergo a structured national evaluation and ranking process by expert committees to determine the most suitable and highest-quality books for each subject and level of education,” he said.

The minister was optimistic that the National Textbook Ranking Policy will strengthen quality assurance in education by providing schools, teachers and parents with reliable guidance on the best instructional materials for teaching and learning.