By Editor
THE Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has paid the sum of ₦1 million prize money to the winner of the 2025 Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature, Ndidi Chiazor Enenmor, whose novel, See Morocco, See Spain, emerged as the winning entry. The payment was made directly from the purse of the association after the prize money for the 2025 edition had not been released by the prize sponsor, Anambra State Government, to the winner.
The development was contained in a press release issued by the ANA President, Dr. Usman Oladipo Akanbi, and the Acting General Secretary, Wole Adedoyin. Chiazor-Enenmor was announced as the winner during the award dinner at the close of the 44th ANA International Convention, held at the Chinua Achebe International Conference Centre, Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village, Abuja. Her novel emerged as the winning entry from 15 submissions received for the 2025 edition of the prestigious literary prize.
The Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature, instituted by the Anambra State Government and administered by ANA, is one of Nigeria’s notable literary honours. It carries a ₦1,000,000 cash prize and celebrates excellence in prose fiction and contemporary Nigerian literature, while also preserving the enduring literary legacy of Prof. Chinua Achebe.
The 2025 edition was exclusively open to submissions from ANA members across Nigeria, in a deliberate effort to strengthen the association’s literary community and provide greater recognition for the creative achievements of its members.
The prize has for some time been administered through the Chinua Achebe Literary Prize Endowment Fund, with Professor Emeka Aniagolu serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Steering Committee. However, despite the announcement of the 2025 winner, the prize money was not released by the Anambra State Government. As the situation persisted and the winner remained without the financial component of the honour bestowed on her, ANA was faced with the difficult choice of allowing the matter to continue or taking responsibility for ensuring that the winner received her prize.
In what the association described as a decision taken to protect the dignity, credibility and integrity of ANA and the Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature, the national executive of the association resolved to pay the ₦1 million from ANA’s own purse. The intervention ensured that Chiazor-Enenmor received the financial reward attached to the prize despite the continued non-payment of the funds by Anambra State Government. ANA, however, expressed the expectation that the Anambra State Government will do the needful by releasing the outstanding funds so that the association can reimburse its purse.
Reacting to the payment, Chiazor-Enenmor expressed gratitude to ANA under the leadership of Akanbi, describing the decision to pay the prize money from the association’s purse as “nothing short of noble.” She particularly acknowledged the sacrifice made by the association and expressed the hope that Anambra State Government would fulfil its obligation by releasing the funds to ANA. According to her, such a step would enable the association to replenish the resources it had deployed to ensure that the winner did not continue to wait for her prize indefinitely.
Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmor
The Association of Nigerian Authors therefore reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the interests and dignity of Nigerian writers and to ensuring that literary honours administered under its platform retain the credibility and respect they deserve. ANA congratulated Chiazor Enenmor on her well-deserved achievement and commended the quality of her winning novel, See Morocco, See Spain. The association also called on the Anambra State Government to honour its financial commitment to the Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature, stressing that the sustainability and credibility of one of Nigeria’s most important literary awards depend on the consistent support of all stakeholders.
ANA said its decision to pay the 2025 prize from its own resources demonstrates that the association will not allow the dignity of a Nigerian writer, the integrity of the prize or the enduring legacy of Chinua Achebe to be compromised.
Chiazor-Enenmor’s See Morocco, See Spain is a spectacular novel that deals with the peculiar japa syndrome, where young Nigerians see travelling abroad as the gateway to escaping the harsh economic realities in the country. They then embark on perilous and dangerous journeys by road through the Sahara desert to Libya or Morocco with the aim of crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Spain and Europe for the greener pastures. In See Morocco, See Spain, Chiazor-Enenmor explores the lives of some six young Nigerians, who embark on this dangerous journey and what became of their lives. Any young Nigeria also considering this route to Europe would do well to first read this riveting novel before taking the plunge.
