Nikki Could, NLNG-prize shortlisted author, has stated that BusinessDay’s candid assessment of her e-book made her cry.
BusinessDay had reviewed and endorsed Could’s e-book, This Motherless Land, on Sunday, October 5, 2025.
Having been shortlisted for the NLNG Prize for Literature, Could said in a be aware to Nia Ihuoma Alexxis: “Your assessment made me cry. With pleasure. You bought it. I’m grateful.”
Nia Ihuoma Alexxis recommended Nikki Could’s work in response to the dialogue on the 2025 Nigeria Prize for Literature shortlist within the Govt Bookshelf within the Sunday version of BusinessDay.
She said, “Some books entertain you. Some transfer you. After which there are those that take you by the hand, drag you throughout the pages, and go away you feeling reworked. Nikki Could’s This Motherless Land clearly suits into that final class.
“This Motherless Land is not only a novel; it’s a complete journey. It’s Lagos site visitors and Somerset rain; it’s cousins who change into one another’s lifeline; it’s grief, jealousy, inheritance, identification — and that difficult sort of
love that isn’t romantic however nonetheless manages to really feel earth-shaking. Could gave us Wahala, and now she’s again — greater, bolder, and, dare I say, even higher.”
Nia Alexxis then affirmed, “3x is a surprising, shifting, humorous, and unforgettable work. Purchase it. Please learn it. Lend it out. Snatch it again earlier than your buddy forgets.” And if it does go on to assert the NLNG Prize, you’ll have the ability to say you knew earlier than the judges did.”
BusinessDay mentioned the shortlisted works. Poet, dramatist, and journalist Uzor Maxim Uzoatu beforehand reviewed the works of Chigozie Obioma, creator of ‘The Highway To The Nation.’ The remaining piece is Oyin Olugbile’s Sanya.
Nikki Could is considered one of two feminine writers on the three-person shortlist. Oyin Olugbile is the opposite. Chigozie Obioma is the one remaining male.
It got here down to those three excellent authors from 152 entries.
A winner of the $100,000 prize will emerge this Friday on the Grand Awards Evening. The literature prize is the primary occasion, because the Science Prize Committee dominated that not one of the entries was adequate.
In a press release, NLNG declared, “The Advisory Board of The Nigeria Prize for Science has introduced that there might be no winner for the 2025 version, following the judges’ dissatisfaction with the general high quality of entries acquired.”
Talking at a press briefing in Lagos, Barth Nnaji, chairman of the Advisory Board, defined that after a rigorous adjudication of the 112 entries submitted this 12 months, none was discovered appropriate for the Prize. He said that the
resolution, although troublesome, strengthened the board’s dedication to upholding the integrity of the choice course of and defending the repute of the distinguished Nigeria Prize for Science.
He famous that the Prize is not only about rewarding scientific output, but in addition about safeguarding the values of creativity, originality, and scientific rigour that outline really excellent work.
“To decrease the bar could be to betray the belief of the general public and diminish the legacy of the Prize itself,” Nnaji, a professor, affirmed.
He recommended the braveness and dedication of all who submitted entries, noting that their efforts mirror self-discipline and a need to contribute to each nationwide and world scientific
discourse. He emphasised that excellence transcends effort, requiring innovation, mastery of craft, and the flexibility to depart a long-lasting influence on human thought and growth.
The board chairman known as on Nigerian scientists, researchers, and innovators to be impressed by the judges’ verdict to do extra and try larger.
“The Nigeria Prize exists to have a good time solely the best achievements, work that embodies originality, withstands scrutiny, and elevates scientific discourse. The place these qualities are absent, we can’t, in good conscience, bestow the Prize,” he said.
—
