Nasara James Dabo, a 13-year-old female junior student from the North Central part of Nigeria, solved 34 questions in less than three minutes to win a gold medal at the recently concluded International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) training held in Kaduna State.
IMO is a global annual mathematics competition for secondary school students. Since the first IMO was hosted in Romania in 1959, with seven participating countries, it has so far extended to more than 100 countries across five continents. Prior to the actual contest, students from various countries undergo training to improve their ability to solve mathematical problems faster and accurately.
According to a publication shared by Kaduna Affairs on December 27, the wonder kid, who is a junior student of Ideal College International located in Kaduna (the Northern part of Nigeria), reached the finish line with a total score of 145, ahead of 150 participants, by answering 34 mathematical questions in just 172 seconds (less than three minutes). She emerged first place in the junior category and was awarded a gold medal, stealing the day as the Olympiad champion.
Recent statistics shared by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) shows that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria rose from 10.5 million to an estimated 18.5 million in 2022 due to several attacks on schools by a terrorist group based in the northern part of Nigeria.
UNICEF report also noted that 60% of the 18.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria are girls.
Amid these challenges, Nasara James Dabo puts her name in the sands of time.
Her remarkable performance, despite hailing from a region ravaged by a terrorist group that considers the education of girls as an abomination, goes to show that girls can achieve great things, especially when access to quality education is not denied.
What if every child had access to quality education and could attend schools without the fear of being kidnapped by a terrorist group? What if financial support is given to children in underserved areas, so they can acquire knowledge and skills?
At Scholar Gazette, we believe the world would be blessed with more and more wonder kids like Nasara James Dabo if quality education is prioritised and made accessible to children of all genders.
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