THE President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government on Thursday, August 28, rewarded 17-year-old Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu from Yobe State, who was recently crowned the world’s best in English at the 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals in London, with N200,000.
At a recognition ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Suiwaba Ahmad, lauded Nafisa’s achievement and other students who excelled at the competition.
Representing Nigeria through the Nigerian Tulip International College (NTIC), Yobe state, Nafisa beat over 20,000 participants from 69 countries, including native English-speaking nations, to emerge the overall best in English Language.
Another Nigerian student, Rukayya Fema, 15, was named the best in debate, while Hadiza Kalli clinched the gold medal in the outstanding talent category.
The FG’s reward to Nafisa, however, has sparked reactions among Nigerians, especially when compared with the Federal Government’s recent $100,000 splashed on the Super Falcons and the D’Tigress, Nigeria’s national women’s football and basketball teams.
The ICIR reports that just few days before the news of Nafisa’s feat, the Federal Government splashed $100,000 (about N150 million) on the Super Falcons and D’Tigress for their impressive performances on the international stage.
D’Tigress clinched the AfroBasket championship after defeating Mali 78–64 in the final on Sunday, August 3, at the Palais des Sports Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, while Super Falcons won their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title in Casablanca.
While some Nigerians applauded the recognition of Nafisa’s feat, many questioned whether the N200,000 cash prize was commensurate with a historic academic victory that placed Nigeria ahead of the world in English, a language often used as a benchmark for global competitiveness.
Speaking at the event, Alausa had noted that the government was investing heavily in human capital and emphasised Tinubu’s commitment to education.
“You are the future of Nigeria, and you have made us proud. For the first time in the history of our nation, we have one of the highest budgetary allocations to education.
“Each time we approach the president for support in the sector, his response has been a resounding ‘yes’ because he believes in you, the children of Nigeria.
“Your success gives us the confidence to ask for more, and we will continue to do so on your behalf,” the minister said.
On her part, the Minister of State for Education, Suiwaba Ahmad, commended Nafisa’s resilience and urged her to see the award as the beginning of a bigger journey.
Reactions trail N200,000 cash gift
Meanwhile, the reward has reignited debate on the government’s appreciation of intellectual achievements compared to sports and entertainment.
Some Nigerians demanded that academic champions receive recognition and rewards equal to or greater than their sporting counterparts.
A X user @NaijadentistNG said of the situation, “This is the Nigerian paradox: intellectual excellence gets tokenism, while mediocrity and entertainment are over-rewarded. Until education and innovation are valued above spectacle, we’ll keep exporting our brightest minds and importing poverty of thought.”
Another user, Daniel Oladoja, expressed frustration over the imbalance, saying: “Sportsmen and women get 100k (100,000) USD but a child who wins a global contest gets 200k!!! And you wonder why we don’t have stable electricity? The government is telling kids it is better to excel in sports than to get a proper education.”
For Nnabuihe Okechi, the government’s gesture reflects a deeper neglect of education.
“Imagine after almost a month ago, this good news filtered (into) the Nigeria media, FG is giving only N200,000 to a global winner of an academic contest. How do we encourage the younger ones to take their studies seriously when others are busy being celebrated for bad behaviours as experienced in the airlines.
“In this era that social media is negatively influencing teenagers’ behaviour, we can’t encourage the ones academically inclined to excel more in order to serve as a good example to others,” he wrote.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M