How does a significant corporate player thank its stakeholders? Nigeria LNG Limited chose an unusual creative path on Friday, 4 October 2024. It gathered the press corps that has covered The Nigeria Prize for Literature as it marks 20 years.
The event unfolded as a closely guarded secret. NLNG hoped to nurture even closer relations with a critical stakeholder, the media community.
Nigeria’s gas giant, Nigeria LNG Limited, surprised media stakeholders on Friday, 4 October, by awarding Vanguard’s Prisca Sam-Duru an N5m award and prizes to four others for their coverage of The Nigeria Prizes.
NLNG held an elaborate Voices of Impact event at the Marriot Hotel, GRA Ikeja. It was to mark the 20th year of The Nigeria Prize for Literature. The other prizes are for Science and Literary Criticism.
NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations & Sustainable Development, Andy Odeh, stated that they organised the event to “celebrate the voices of impact” on the milestone of the prizes.
He told the media stakeholders: “In a world where information is abundant, it takes skill, passion, and integrity to distil the essence of our stories and share them with the public as you do.
Your insightful reporting has highlighted the significance of these awards and brought our country’s immense talent and creativity to the forefront. Through your work, you have amplified the voices of our literary giants and scientific innovators, making their contributions known far and wide.”
The Nigeria Prize Awards are scheduled for 11 October 2024. The Nigeria Prize for Science awards $100000 to the winner, as does The Nigeria Prize for Literature. The winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literacy Criticism takes home N1m.
Mr Odeh stated, “The Nigeria Prize for Literature, now in its 20th year, has become a beacon of hope and inspiration for writers nationwide. It encourages the exploration of our rich cultural tapestry and fosters a spirit of creativity that resonates with generations. Your coverage of this Prize has helped to celebrate our storytellers, ensuring that their narratives reach audiences not only in Nigeria but around the globe. Today, we have 18 winners of the prizes from over 3,000 entries. Thank you for shining a light on the power of literature to inspire change and foster understanding.
“The Nigeria Prize for Science, also in its 20th year, recognises groundbreaking research and innovation that addresses some of our most pressing challenges. In an era where scientific advancement is crucial for sustainable development, your diligent reporting on this Prize has helped to showcase the vital work being done by our scientists. The science prize has recorded 19 winners over 20 years, from fewer entries than its Literature counterpart. It is worth mentioning that the Prize struggled between 2011 and 2016 when there was no winner for three years and a hiatus for another three years. Regardless of this difficulty, you continued to support the Prize and played an essential role in elevating the discourse around science and technology in Nigeria, encouraging collaboration and investment in these vital fields.”
The “Voices of Impact” event also awarded four other correspondents. They are Mr Terh Agbedeh for the most consistent, Gabriel Akinadewo for the most versatile, Mrs Chidinma Agwu for the most punctual, and Mr Sopuruchi Onwuka for the most engaging.
The event came ahead of the Nigeria Prizes Award night billed for 11 October 2024. It was part of triple celebrations at the Bonny-based company. NLNG is celebrating 35 years of incorporation, 25 years of production, and 20 years of the Nigeria Prizes for Literature and Science.
NLNG engaged three media technocrats as judges to set criteria, research, and determine a winner for the award. Members were Mr Taiwo Obe, founder of The Journalism Clinic, as chairman, Ms Kadaria Ahmed, owner of Radio Now, and Chido Nwakanma of BusinessDay. NLNG’s public relations counsel, Chain Reactions, dug through the archives and the Internet to find the stories.
The panel did not call for entries. Nor was it public.
Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and former Daily Telegraph MD Mrs Funke Egbemode presented a keynote address. A two-person panel of BusinessDay Editor Temitayo Fagbule and former Presidential spokesman Tolu Ogunlesi discussed the presentation and any arising matters. Anike-Ade Funke Treasure, former FRCN Regional Director and current adjunct at Lagos State University, moderated discussions and compered the event.
NLNG added a fellow feeling to the day by presenting Mr Anthony Okuyeme with a 60th birthday cake. They asked all those who had reached 60 to line up with him.
Criteria for The NLNG One-Off Prize
Working with a team from the External Relations Division of the Nigeria LNG Limited, we, the judges, set out the criteria for the one-off Awards as follows:
Eligibility: The award is open to all Nigerian journalists reporting on the Nigeria Prizes (print, online, etc.). No application is required for this award, but the reviewers will review all journalistic works (articles, reviews, interviews, features, etc.).
The highest score of 50 points is given, justifiably, to Quality, which embodies Accuracy, Depth, Grammar and Language Flow; Originality (beyond press statements and independent work); Frequency (number of articles); and Consistency (number of years of coverage).
As you would agree with me, these criteria are sensible.
I am happy to announce that we found a winner who fully met the criteria.
What is left for me to do is share a few judges’ concerns.
One: where can your work be found after publication, especially in the digital age? As we have seen, with a few newspapers, many of the links to the works of their journalists are on “page not found.” Oh, your work has been put behind paywalls that you even have to pay to access. So, perhaps you need to take your archiving into your own hands by moving them to your websites, which can be hosted on free domains.
Two: What do you do with press releases? Publish them as received or tweak them to give them your voice, a bit more depth, and in alignment with your media’s style. The judges recommend that you go beyond the press releases, no matter how splendidly written they come to you. We believe the ones from NLNG are rich and informative. Use them as a foundation to build your reports.
Three: how much original work do you do? What does this mean? If, for instance, the Grand Awards Night is coming up next week, can you, without prompting from anyone in Nigeria LNG, decide to write a news feature that will show your deep knowledge of the shortlisted works and even forecast the winner of the Prize, with some measure of precision?
Even after the awards ceremony, what happens to the winning works many years after the Nigerian Prizes? Everything does not end with the ceremony. That is where you are to play. Follow up.
Four: what kind of attention do you attach to your work before publication? Do you write and need help with how they are processed? Imagine a piece where what should be NLNG ends up being LNG. That is an unpardonable sin. Accuracy is sacrosanct in journalism. You cannot afford to have your report, especially bearing your name, contain any error in facts or figures.
The judges’ long and short is that more can be done, and you can do it.
The judges found the winner of this award to have done more: gone beyond press releases, did original/independent work, was attentive to details, and was consistent and frequent with their coverage. We had no choice but to recommend her for the Star Award.
Remarks by the chair of the panel of judges, Mr Taiwo Obe.
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