Three Nigerian Students Make History With Gold Medals at Global STEM Olympiad

(Nigerian students. Photo by THISDAYLIVE)

Three Nigerian students have won gold medals at the Grand Finale of the International STEM Olympiad in Rome, Italy, marking a remarkable achievement for the country on the global academic stage.

The students are 11-year-old Egejurum Onyedikachi, 13-year-old Chimdiebube Onwubiko and 17-year-old Don Anele Munachimso.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by education advocate and Educare CEO, Alex Onyia, who had sponsored the students' participation in the competition after they emerged among the top performers at the South-east Mathematics Olympiad.

Sharing the development on social media, Onyia first announced that Onwubiko and Munachimso had won gold medals, declaring that the wait was over and celebrating that Nigeria had produced two gold medallists in Chimdiebube Onwubiko and Don Anele Munachimso, describing them as the best in the world.

He later confirmed that Egejurum Onyedikachi had also won a gold medal, after his name was initially omitted, while noting that Munachimso had in fact secured a second gold medal in Science.

Onyia wrote that Munachimso had also won gold in Science, describing him as the best in world science and reminding followers that he was also the best in IGCSE Chemistry in Nigeria, adding that the investment made in him was worth it.

In a further update correcting the earlier omission, Onyia wrote that Onyedikachi Egejurum had won gold as well, describing him as the best in Mathematics in the world within the Primary category and calling it the beginning of greatness for the country.

He also praised the students' teachers, crediting Master Chisom Unachukwu and Anthony Iwegbu, their mathematics teachers, for helping their students conquer the world.

Onwubiko attends Evergreen Schools, Enugu, while Munachimso and Onyedikachi are students of Diamond Special College, Owerri.

The International STEM Olympiad, held at the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, drew participants from more than 150 countries competing in Mathematics and Science events.

The three Nigerians qualified for the global competition after emerging among the best contestants at the Southeast Mathematics Olympiad, organised by Onyia, which attracted more than 11,500 participants from across the region.

Onyia sponsored their participation by covering the costs of registration, visas, flights, accommodation and other travel expenses.

Before the competition, he had expressed confidence in the team, describing them as some of Nigeria's brightest young minds.