Lagos. — Nigeria’s Rotimi Babatunde has won the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing for 2012, the prize’s management committee announced.

Babatunde, who lives in the Nigerian state of Ibadan, scooped the £10 000 (US$15 680) prize for his short story “Bombay’s Republic”, about a Nigerian soldier fighting in Burma during the Second World War.

He faced competition from shortlisted writers from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The Caine Prize, backed by patrons Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer and JM Coetzee, is awarded annually to an African writer of promise.

Along with South Africa, Nigeria is one of the most prolific producers of literature on the continent. But, although the country has several reputable publishing houses, most writers aim for publication in Europe or the United States. — Sapa/DPA.