Ogaga Ifowodo Wins 2026 NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature

Nigerian poet and lawyer Ogaga Ifowodo has been named the winner of the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), for his poetry collection Why Does God Need a Gun? The announcement adds another major honour to a literary career that has spanned several decades.

A Career Marked by Acclaim

Ifowodo’s winning collection is the latest in a body of work that has earned consistent recognition. His poetry collections include:

• Homeland and Other Poems, which won the 1993 Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Poetry Prize
• Madiba, which won the 2003 ANA/Cadbury Poetry Prize
• The Oil Lamp, which won the 2005 ANA/Gabriel Okara Poetry Prize
• A Good Mourning, which was shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2017

The 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature

The 2026 edition of the prize focused on poetry and drew 223 submissions. Ifowodo’s collection emerged from a final shortlist that also included James Ngwu Eze’s Unbind Me Now and Tares Oburumu’s Flora’s Love Colony.

NLNG’s Nigeria Prize for Literature is the biggest literary award on the continent and comes with a $100,000 cash prize.

Announcement and Congratulations

The Nigeria Prizes announced the win on October 9, 2026, via its official X account, posting: “Why does God need a gun? by @OgagaIfowodo wins The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2026. Congratulations! #GAN26 #TheNigeriaPrizes2026 #Heritage”