Adichie becomes first Nigerian to bag Prism of Reason award

Award-winning writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has become the first Nigerian to be honoured with the Kassel Citizens’ Prism of Reason award as she turns 42. Adichie was given the award for her literary works, vision of humanistic diversity, equality and justice advocacy at the State Theatre of Kassel in Germany. Bernd Leifeld, the Kassel board […]

Award-winning writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has become the first Nigerian to be honoured with the Kassel Citizens’ Prism of Reason award as she turns 42.

Adichie was given the award for her literary works, vision of humanistic diversity, equality and justice advocacy at the State Theatre of Kassel in Germany.

Bernd Leifeld, the Kassel board president, described Adichie’s approach as “combative but not fanatical,” adding that she points out ways to overcome outdated patterns which are deeply anchored in education and society and “believes in the social, political and economic equality of all people.”

Adichie gets a certificate, a sculpture designed by Kassel art professor and document artist Karl Oskar Blasé with a prism symbolising the analytical glass of the Enlightenment.

The award was established in 1990 by citizens of Kassel and the region. It is awarded to persons or institutions whose work serve the ideals of the enlightenment by overcoming ideological barriers and promoting reason and tolerance towards dissenters.

Adichie has authored novels such as ‘Americanah,’ ‘Half of a yellow Sun,’ and ‘Purple Hibiscus.’