The Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu says the Federal government is very anxious to produce the first Nigerian Nobel Laureate in Science.
The Minister made this known on Monday in Abuja while awarding scholarships on behalf of the Federal Government to the best students of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in the country.
He said the award came as a challenge to young Nigerians to show interest in Science subjects through STEM.
The Minister said Nigeria is blessed in a way that no other country is blessed in solid, liquid minerals as well as human resources but lacked the people with the requisite skills to turn the resources into finished goods and services that could build the economy into a sustainable and prosperous nation.
He commended the winners of the award for their hard work and challenged them and other Nigerian students, especially those in secondary schools to show interest in science and urged them to take up a future career in science so as to serve the nation and humanity with dignity.
‘‘We are always happy to see young Nigerians show interest in the study of Mathematics and Engineering courses because they are unique. We are challenging all Nigerian students in secondary schools to show interest in science and take up career in science. Nigeria is blessed in a very unique way, we have got virtually all minerals both solid and liquid. We can put them into use and build a sustainable economy that can make Nigeria one of the greatest nations in the world.
‘‘We are tired of importing goods into Nigeria. The only way we can put all the minerals into use is to have people with requisite skills that will convert the minerals into use,’’ Onu said.
The Awardees are 1st position, Maryam Olufunmilayo Ogunbayo (Pen Resource Academy) Gombe state; 2nd position, Gbolahan Azeem Ayinde (African Church Grammar School) Ogun state and 3rd position, Uchendu Mmesomachukwu Judith (UNIBEN Demonstration Secondary school) Edo state.
In all, twenty-three (23) out of the thirty-six (36) states of the federation participated in the competition.
The competition which is in its 6th edition started at the Local government Area level, where the best contestants emerged to represent their states for the final contest.
Announcing the winners, the Chief examiner, Prof. Nno Nno of Federal University of Science and Technology, Minna, said the competition was based on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and was keenly contested by 23 three states in the federation, from where the three winners emerged.
He said the examination was upgraded from manual to electronic method this year which was part of the strategies designed to make the contest more transparent and devoid of human interference.
The Minister, while presenting the certificate to the winners said President Mohammadu Buhari will on march 14th, 2022 present the prizes for the scholarship to the winners.
The winners are to choose any Nigerian university of their choice to study any course of their choice from undergraduate to Ph.D. level.