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Awesome Nigerians....that are super-intelligent!

  • awesomenigeria
  • Aug 30, 2017
  • 4 min read

The "Ivy-league sweep" is rare...but not among Nigerians!! Every year, at least one Nigerian makes the cut.

Gaining admission into all of the Ivies is a monumental feat, but it's happened to a handful of teens over the past couple of years -- Ghanaian Kwasi Enin in 2014, Nigerian Harold Ekeh in 2015 and Nigerian Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna in 2016.

So, here are the young and awesome Nigerians blazing a trail in the 2017 academic year....

Also in April, Chaminade High School, Long Island senior Jude Okonkwo learnt he was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools. The son of Nigerian immigrants who are both physicians, Jude aspires to be a neuro-surgeon and is leaning towards Harvard University.

In 2016, Long Island, N.Y., teen Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools. The daughter of Nigerian immigrants, Augusta was Elmont Memorial Junior–Senior High School's 2016 valedictorian and Intel Science Finalist.

In addition to those schools, she was accepted by four others - Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. With a GPA of 101.64, Augusta had taken 13 Advanced Placement courses by the time she graduated.

Augusta's achievement mirrors that of another Elmont High School student and offspring of Nigerian immigrants, Harold Ekeh, who gained acceptance into all eight Ivy League schools in 2015 (his story is below).

Way to go, grads!

In 2015, 18-year old, Nigerian-born Harold Ekeh was accepted to 13 universities, including all eight Ivy League schools (that means Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, Penn and Brown universities).

Words are not enough to describe his achievements. This Daily Mail article notes that this outstanding young man credits his success to his parents' resilience and positivity.

So, which ethnic group is the most educated in the US?

Indians? Chinese? Caucasians? Wrong on all counts. Data collected by the US Census Board shows Nigerians are the most educated in America.

This Houston Chronicle article reports that Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in the nation, surpassing whites and Asians, according to Census data bolstered by an analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Data-show-Nigerians-the-most-educated-in-the-U-S-1600808.php

Nigerians are also breaking academic records in the UK, as the Imafidons have been officially recognized as Britain's brainiest family! The five children of Dr. Chris and Ann Imafidon, Nigerian immigrants to the UK, have all broken national records in education.

The eldest, Anne Marie speaks 6 languages and graduated from high school at age 10. At age 13, she was the youngest person to pass the U.K.'s A-level computing exam. She was also 13 when she received a British scholarship to study mathematics at Johns Hopkins University. At 15, she was admitted to a degree program by the University of Oxford. At 17, she started a Masters degree at Oxford University and, at 19 she became the youngest ever graduate with a masters degree. In May 2017, Anne-Marie Imafidon was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth.

Christiana took her AS-level maths at 14, making her one of the youngest to pass; she also passed with a grade A. At 11 years old, she was at that time the youngest student in history to attend a British university (her record has since been superseded by another Nigerian, Esther Okade - see below).

Samantha passed two high school-level mathematics and statistics exams at age 6. She also became the youngest girl in the U.K. to attend high school at the age of 9.

The youngest Imafidons, twins Peter and Paula are the youngest people ever to pass an A/AS-level examination in maths – at the tender age of 7 years old. At age 9, they made history as the youngest twins in British history to attend high school.They are the youngest to ever pass the University of Cambridge’s advanced mathematics exam after participating in the Excellence in Education program.

Nigerian student, Tobi Olasunkanmi was awarded the 2015 William Charnley Prize for the best First Class in Law at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. The 24-year-old Oluwatobi was the only student of black descent in the June 2015 graduating set.

Toby with his proud parents on graduation day...

In 2015, ten year-old Nigerian (yes, you read correctly, ten year-old), Esther Okade, was

accepted to start her maths degree at a British university. The talented young lady enrolled at the Open University, a UK-based distance learning college, in January 2015 and quickly rose to the top of the class.

Emmanuel Ohuabunwa made history at John Hopkins University in Baltimore on his graduation date. The then 22 year old was named the best graduating student of the 2011-2012 academic year, achieving the highest Grade Point Average of his graduating class – 3.98 out of 4.0 - while earning his B.S. degree in Neuroscience. Emmanuel was the first Black male and the first Nigerian to do so. Emmanuel, for his efforts, received a full scholarship to Yale University to pursue a degree in medicine.

Osarieme Omonuwa, broke the jinx at the University of Reading, United Kingdom to become the first black woman to earn a first class degree in the history of the 121-year-old institution. Omonuwa, then 20, also received the 2012 prestigious “Chancellor's Award” of the university for her outstanding academic performance. By the exceptional academic feat, she became the first black woman to win the Reading University Chancellor's Award.

On graduation day with her proud mum...

Saheela Ibraheem was accepted to Harvard College at age 15, and arrived at 16. She took ultra-tough Math 55 and was a teaching fellow for Harvard’s largest class, CS50. She introduced President Barack Obama at a reception in March. Saheela graduated from Harvard in 2015 at the ripe young age of 20.

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