UNA pledges N20m to fund Chinua Achebe Prize for 10 years

By Adeola Ogunrinde

United Nigeria Airlines has pledged N20 million to sponsor the annual Chinua Achebe Prize for Fiction, administered by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), for the next 10 years.

The airline’s executive chairman, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, disclosed the commitment on Monday after a discussion with ANA President Dr. Usman Akanbi, under which the airline will provide N2 million annually to the association.

The sponsorship is expected to ensure the continuity of the prize, which was initiated by the Anambra State government in 2021 in partnership with ANA but has faced funding challenges after the state government stopped supporting it.

Initially, the Willie Obiano administration provided N1 million for the award, while the Chukwuma Soludo administration, which succeeded it in 2022, continued the sponsorship and agreed to double the amount following ANA’s request to cover inflation and administrative costs.

However, ANA said the state government appeared to have lost interest in continuing the sponsorship after two years despite several letters reminding it of its commitment, prompting United Nigeria Airlines to intervene.

Announcing the airline’s decision, Akanbi quoted Okonkwo as saying Achebe was “too precious in our consciousness for the award to continue to suffer the current epileptic funding,” adding that the literary icon’s legacy demanded sustained commitment.

Reacting to the sponsorship, Akanbi expressed appreciation to Okonkwo and the airline, describing Achebe as a world-class raconteur and essayist who founded ANA in 1981 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and became its first president.

Akanbi also commended Okonkwo’s efforts to preserve Achebe’s legacy, noting that he solely funded the erection of a statue of the late author unveiled in July by Soludo at Ugwunwasike Roundabout in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Achebe’s hometown.