Three Nigerian students have brought pride to the country after winning gold medals at the Grand Finale of the International STEM Olympiad held in Rome, Italy, in a remarkable display of academic excellence on the global stage.
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The students, Onyedikachi Egejurum, Chimdiebube Onwubiko, and Don Anele Munachimso, earned top honours in Mathematics and Science after competing against participants from more than 150 countries at the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.
Education advocate and Chief Executive Officer of Educare, Alex Onyia, announced the achievement on Tuesday, celebrating the students’ outstanding performance and describing it as a major milestone for Nigeria.
Initially, Onyia revealed that Onwubiko and Don Anele had won gold medals before confirming that Egejurum had also secured gold. He further disclosed that Don Anele claimed a second gold medal after emerging as the world’s best student in Science.
According to Onyia, Egejurum emerged as the World’s Best in the Primary Mathematics Category, while Don Anele won the World Science title, adding to his reputation as one of Nigeria’s brightest science students.
The three students qualified to represent Nigeria after emerging among the top performers at the Southeast Mathematics Olympiad, a competition organised by Onyia that attracted more than 11,500 participants from across the South-East region.
Following their success at the regional competition, Onyia sponsored their participation at the international event by covering the costs of registration, visas, flights, accommodation, and other travel expenses.
Representing Nigeria across the primary, junior, and senior categories, the students impressed judges with exceptional performances, securing multiple gold medals for Team Nigeria.
Before the competition, Onyia had expressed confidence in the students’ abilities, describing Don Anele as one of Nigeria’s finest science talents and highlighting his previous achievement as the country’s best performer in IGCSE Chemistry.
He also praised Egejurum’s exceptional mathematical ability, expressing optimism that the young prodigy would excel on the global stage.
During the competition, Egejurum surprised organisers by voluntarily participating in the Science category despite having no prior preparation, demonstrating remarkable confidence and versatility.
The students’ success comes at a time when education stakeholders have raised concerns over Nigeria’s declining participation in major international academic competitions. Only weeks earlier, the country was downgraded to observer status at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad in Shanghai, China, after years of limited participation due to funding challenges.
Their victory has been widely celebrated as evidence of the immense potential of Nigerian students when given the necessary support and opportunities to compete internationally.
With the latest results, Team Nigeria secured four gold medals at the International STEM Olympiad. Don Anele Munachimso won two gold medals, including the world title in Science, Onyedikachi Egejurum emerged as the world’s best in the Primary Mathematics category, while Chimdiebube Onwubiko also claimed a gold medal, completing an outstanding outing for the Nigerian team.
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