Nigerian poet, lawyer and activist Ogaga Ifowodo has emerged as the winner of the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature, a prestigious award sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG). He clinched the $100,000 award for his poetry collection, Why Does God Need a Gun?, which explores themes of religious intolerance, terrorism, and political violence in Nigeria. The collection was chosen from among 223 submissions, beating two other shortlisted works to the prize.
Ifowodo's collection, Why Does God Need a Gun?, interrogates the justification of violence in the name of religion, asking why an all-powerful God would need human beings to defend Him with guns, bombs, and bloodshed. The work confronts the trauma of terrorism and abduction, drawing attention to the experiences of victims whose lives have been devastated by violence perpetrated in the name of religion. The collection also challenges the assumption that violence can be justified by religious conviction.
The 2026 edition of the Nigeria Prize for Literature is dedicated to poetry, continuing the award's annual rotation among poetry, prose fiction, drama, and children's literature. The Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Literature praised Why Does God Need a Gun? for its exploration of religious and political violence in Nigeria through allegory. The judges described the collection as a work that depicts religious and political violence in Nigeria, expressed through a rich allegorical style.
Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, chairperson of the Advisory Board, noted that the selection of the three finalists from 223 submissions had been a demanding exercise. The shortlisted works reflected the depth and quality of contemporary Nigerian poetry, distinguishing themselves through literary excellence, originality, and their capacity to engage readers with the world around them. The judges assessed the shortlisted books on the strength of their language, form, originality, craftsmanship, and lasting literary value.
Ifowodo is a renowned poet, lawyer, writer, activist, and columnist whose literary career has earned him recognition in Nigeria and internationally. He is the author of six poetry collections, including Homeland and Other Poems, which won the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize in 1993. His collection A Good Mourning was also shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, while Augusta's Poodle was longlisted.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by NLNG, recognises outstanding literary achievement and seeks to encourage creativity and contribute to the development of Nigerian literature. With its $100,000 prize, it is among Africa's most valuable literary awards. For Ifowodo, the recognition of Why Does God Need a Gun? would affirm the power of poetry to confront uncomfortable truths, question entrenched beliefs, and give voice to people whose suffering is often overlooked.
Ifowodo's win marks a significant milestone in his literary career, which has spanned decades of poetry, scholarship, activism, and public engagement. His poetry frequently engages with questions of political freedom, injustice, violence, and the consequences of historical trauma. The collection's engagement with religious violence and the human consequences of extremism places it firmly within Nigeria's contemporary literary and public conversations.
Key points
- Ogaga Ifowodo won the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature for his poetry collection, Why Does God Need a Gun?
- The collection explores themes of religious intolerance, terrorism, and political violence in Nigeria.
- The Nigeria Prize for Literature is one of Africa's most valuable literary awards, with a $100,000 prize.
