- The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has urged pupils representing Nigeria in the International Junior Science Olympiad to strive to win the gold medal for the country.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has urged pupils representing Nigeria in the International Junior Science Olympiad to strive to win the gold medal for the country.
The event is slated to take place in Qatar in December.
Twelve pupils, who just rounded up a training camp where they prepared for the competition, visited the minister on Thursday.
Addressing the pupils, Onu said Nigerians are counting on them to win the competition.
“We believe you will do your very best and bring the gold medal to Nigeria. Only the best will be good enough for Nigeria.
“We have hosted this competition in the past and we believe that this year you will do us proud by winning the gold medal,” he said.
Noting that Nigerians need to recreate the country, Onu said creativity and innovation were vital for national development.
According to him, for Nigeria to make progress, only pupils with the most creative and innovative intellect would be good for the nation.
“The actualisation of the aspirations of our country is not possible without young people who are innovative, creative, patriotic, brilliant and determined to put in their best”, he added.
He expressed optimism that through the students’ performance at the event, other young people would be inspired to focus more on science, technology and innovation.
“Through you, we believe Nigeria will develop up to the point where people from all over the world will come here to have a better life, that is the future we intend for this country.
“Nigerian youths will no longer take the risk of passing through the desert or the sea to get to Europe for greener pastures,” Onu said
The minister added that the Federal Government was determined to apply science and technology in the quest to end unemployment and hunger in the country.
Director of Science and Technology Promotion in the Ministry, Dr. Ekanem Udoh, said the students should excel in the competition due to the high level of support given to them.
“We are hoping, that by the training given to these students, they will emerge and return back home as the topmost competitors,” he said.
Udoh explained that the students, who are in Senior Secondary Two, have been taught all that they are required to know at their level of education.
Out of the 12 students that participated in the training camp, six would be finally selected for the International Junior Science Olympiad.
One of the students, Favour Godwin Effiok, from Akwa-Ibom State, assured the minister that they will do the country proud.
