Arẹmọ Yusuf Alábí Balógun’s Ṣẹgilọlá Arómirẹ̀ Ògìdán has won the Best Thriller Book prize at the Africa Laureate Awards 2026.
The novel follows Segilola, a woman torn between her values and desire, whose decision to risk a night stand for her lover alters the course of her life. Cultural taboo, a mother’s love, misogyny, and revenge collide with crime at a tense crossroads, shaping a story driven by consequence and survival.
A Nigerian experimental performance poet, TEDx speaker, and art specialist whose work centres on Yorùbá arts and culture, Arẹmọ Yusuf Alábí Balógun’s debut novel Ṣẹgilọlá Arómirẹ̀ Ògìdán is a 370-page work that interrogates misogyny, cultural taboo, and revenge within a deeply rooted Yorùbá narrative tradition.
Congratulations, Arẹmọ Yusuf Alábí Balógun!
