Best Nigerian Authors Of All Time

Best Nigerian Authors Of All Time – In terms of both people and material resources, Nigeria is a very fortunate nation. In the literary sphere, the nation has achieved the remarkable feat of creating legendary figures.

Most of these Nigerian authors of all time have acquired international accolades and recognition. Some are dead, some are still alive, and we can call them living legends.

This post will show you the top twelve (12) Nigerian authors of all time, with quick facts about why they were selected.

The importance of literary works to mankind’s development can never be overemphasized. This is so because, through writing, people’s awareness about their immediate environment can become widened, hence leading to a better cooperation between humans, which consequently breeds development.

Top Nigerian Authors Of All Time

Here is a detailed list of the best Nigerian authors of all time:

1. Chinua Achebe (1930 – 2013)

Born on November 16, 1930, in Ogidi, Anambra state, Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic.

Many also considered him one of the most original literary artists writing in English during his lifetime. He is best known for his novel Things Fall Apart (1958).

Achebe became learned in English, though he grew up in a village full of Igbo language and traditions and colonial legacy. This great man made it to our list of the greatest Nigerian authors of all time.

2. Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde “Wole” Soyinka is an author, poet, playwright, and human rights activist.

Born on July 13, 1934, Soyinka has been a strong critic of Nigeria’s successive governments, especially the country’s many military dictators, as well as other political hitters in Africa, like Zimbabwe’s Mugabe.

During General Sani Abacha’s regime, Soyinka escaped from Nigeria and lived in the United States. In 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first African to be honored in that category.

He has written many books, including The Swamp Dwellers (1958), A Quality of Violence (1959), The Lion and the Jewel (1959), and many others.

Among his notable awards are the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, the Agip Prize for Literature in 1986, the International Humanist Award in 2014, and too many others not mentioned here. He’s among the greatest Nigerian authors of all time.

3. Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu on the 15th of September 1977 but hailed from Abba in Njikoka local government of Anambra state.

She has been called the most prominent of a procession of critically acclaimed young Anglophone authors that is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African Literature.

Chimamanda divides her time between Nigeria, where she teaches writing workshops, and the United States.

Chimamanda is a core feminist. She said, “I think of myself as a storyteller, but I would not mind at all if someone were to think of me as a feminist writer. I’m very feminist in the way I look at the world, and that world must somehow be part of my work as a Nigerian author.”

Chimamanda’s speech for TEDxEuston, titled “We should all be feminists,” was sampled in 2013 before the Grammy-nominated song “Flawless,” which attracted world attention to her.

Her awards include the BBC Short Story Competition Prize 2002, Commonwealth Writers Prize 2005, Orange Prize for Fiction 2007, International Nino Prize 2009, etc.

Here are some of her notable published novels: Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), “The Danger of a Single Story” (2009), Americanah (2013), and We Should All Be Feminists (2014).

4. Ben Okri

Sir Ben Golden Emuobowho Okri is not only a poet and novelist but is also considered one of the foremost African authors in the postmodern and postcolonial tradition.

He is also likened to authors of high reputation, such as Salman Rushdie and Gabriel Marquez. He was born to an Urhobo father and an Igbo mother.

Ben’s success as a writer began when he published his first novel, Flowers and Shadows, at the age of 21. Some of his novels include Flowers and Shadows (1980), The Landscapes Within (1981), The Famished Road (1991), and many others.

Ben Okri has won many international awards, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize 1987, the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction 1987, the Guardian Fiction Prize 1988, the Prestigious Man Booker Prize 1991, and many others.

5. Flora Nwapa (1931 – 1993)

Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa was born on January 13, 1931, in Oguta, a community in Imo state, and died on October 16, 1993, at the age of 62.

She was a top Nigerian author of high repute, simply known by her contemporaries as Flora Nwapa. She was also called the mother of modern African Literature.

Flora is acknowledged as the first African woman novelist to be published in the English language in Britain and achieve international recognition with her first novel, Efuru, which was published in 1966.

She never considered herself a feminist; she was best known for recreating life and traditions from an Igbo woman’s viewpoint. Her notable works include Efuru (1966), Idu (1970), This Is Lagos and Other Stories (1971), One is Enough (1981), and many others.

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6. Cyprian Ekwensi (1921 – 2007)

Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi is a native of Nkwelle Ezunaka in the Oyi local government area of Anambra state.

He wrote hundreds of short stories, radio and television scripts, and several dozen novels, including children’s books.

In 1968, he received the Dag Ham Mark Gold International Prize in Literature. In 2001, he was made a member of the MFR, and in 2006, he became a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.

Ekwensi died on 4th November 2007 at the Niger Foundation in Enugu, where he underwent an operation for an undisclosed ailment.

His books include People of the City (1954), The Drummer Boy (1960), Jagua Nana (1961), Burning Grass (1961), and many others. He’s obviously among the greatest Nigerian Authors Of All Time.

7. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo

Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo was born and raised in Eastern Nigeria but now lives in Lagos.

According to her website, she is the first child of Joshua and Christiana Adimora and has five siblings.

Raised partially in a rural environment and partially in the city, she combines these two factors as background and setting for her children’s stories and adult fiction.

She has traveled extensively in Africa, Europe, and the USA. Prof. Akachi is a lecturer, writer, novelist, critic, essayist, journalist, and administrator. She was appointed as a professor of English at the University of Lagos in 1999.

Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo is married to Professor Chris Ezeigbo, and they have three children. She has written many books, including Trafficked (2008), Wings of Dawn: An Anthology of New Writing by Nigerian Women (2006), Roses and Bullets (2011), and many others.

Among her literary awards are the Flora Nwapa Prize for Women’s Writing in 2002, the NLNG Prize for Literature in 2007, and many others.

8. Buchi Emecheta (1944 – 2017)

Buchi Emecheta (born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta) is a female Nigerian novelist who has over 20 published books under her literary achievements. She hails from Ibusa in Delta State.

She focuses on child slavery, motherhood, female independence, and freedom through education. These literary niches have earned her considerable international awards and honors, including an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005.

Some of her works include In the Ditch (1972), Second Class Citizen (1974), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys Of Motherhood (1979), and many others.

Some of her reputable awards include the New Statesman Jock Campbell’s Award for The Slave Girl, 1979, and also she has been honored as one of Granta’s “Best of the Young British Novelists” in 1983.

9. Amos Tutuola (1920 – 1997)

Amos Olatubosun Tutuola Odegbami was born on June 20, 1920, in Wasinmi, a community just a few miles outside of Abeokuta, Nigeria. His parents, Charles Tutuola Odegbami and Esther Aina Odegbami, were Yoruba Christian cocoa farmers.

Amos Tutuola was a Nigerian novelist who gained recognition mostly for his mastery of magical realism. The author frequently situates his works within the Yoruba realm, incorporating extraordinary beings and occurrences.

Tutuola’s renowned novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952), narrates the journey of a man who ventures into the realm of spirits in pursuit of palm wine. It is an ethereal voyage through the Yoruba realm of the dead.

His notable work includes The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952), My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954), and many others.

The distinguishing features of his work include its vibrant imagination, incorporation of folklore and mythology, and creation of a surreal ambiance.

10. Ola Rotimi (1938 – 2000)

Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, born on April 13, 1938, in Sapele, Delta state, southern Nigeria, was a playwright, director, and one-time head lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University.

He has also served as a visiting professor, playwright, and director in Germany and Italy, as well as at DePauw University and Wabash College.

He died on the 18th of August 2000 at the age of 62. Some of his works include To Stir the God of Iron (1963), Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again (1966), The Gods Are Not to Blame (1968), others include Kuwunmi (1969), Holding Talks (1970), and many other books.

Additionally, he was awarded two Fulbright Scholarships.

11. Sefi Atta

Sefi Atta, born in January 1964, is a Nigerian-American novelist, short-story writer, playwright and screenwriter.

She is renowned for her adept use of dark humor and her insightful examination of gender, race, and class. The author’s novels are often set in modern-day Nigeria, showcasing intricate individuals who grapple with the challenge of finding their identity in a rapidly evolving society.

Sefi’s renowned literary work is Everything Good Will Come (2005), which narrates the journey of a young Nigerian woman grappling with the loss of her father. She has many notable works.

Among her awards and recognition are the Red Hen Press Short Story Award, 1st prize (2003), PEN International David TK Wong Prize, 1st Prize (2005), Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa (2006), Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (2009), and many others.

12. Christopher Okigbo (1932 – 1967)

Our list of the greatest authors in Nigeria will never be complete without the legendary Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo.

In the words of Chinua Achebe, Christopher remains the greatest poet Africa has ever produced. This is so because, roughly 70 years after his death, no other African author has surpassed his literal writings.

Christopher Okigbo was born in 1932 in the defunct Eastern region of Nigeria. He graduated from the University of Ibadan, where he read Western Classics.

During his short life, he held positions such as secondary school teacher, editor of an African literary magazine, and librarian at the University of Ibadan, amongst other important positions that made him one of the top Nigerian authors of all time.

In 1966, Okigbo was offered the first price poetry award in Darka, which he turned down on grounds of racial discrimination.

According to him, a literary work and award should be accessed based on good or bad, and not based on where the writer came from or on the basis of the color of his skin.

Regrettably, this literary avatar died in 1967 while fighting on the Biafran side during the Nigerian Civil War.

His most famous poems include Heavensgate (1962), Limits (1964), Labyrinths with Path of Thunder (1971), and many others.

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