A FORMER student of Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure, Ondo State, Jesuoluwajoba Ebenezer Ademehin, made history in far away Bangkok, Thailand last week, when he clinched one of the bronze medals at the 42nd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).
Ademehin’s feat makes it the first time ever that an African country would win a medal in any category in the Physics Olympiad, since it was first organized in Warsaw, Poland, in 1967.
About 390 students from 84 countries participated in the yearly event, held between July 10 and 18. A total of 54 gold, 68 silver and 93 bronze medals were distributed among the respective winners. Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya were the only African countries at the event, but the last two left, leaving Nigeria’s five contestants as the continent’s only representatives. Three of the five contestants: Ayodeji Bode-Oke, Musa Damina and Ayomide Bamidele are students of the Nigeria-Turkish International College, Abuja.
In this year’s contest, the best nine countries were from the Asian continent. They include Taiwan, China, Korea and Singapore, which clinched five gold medals each. Others were India, Kazakhstan, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong. Each of them won three gold medals.
It was hardly surprising that the best countries were from the same region, Asia, because their respective governments are known to pay serious attention to all Olympiads, especially those related to the sciences. Malaysia, another Asian country, is also popularly known for Mental Arithmetic, which Dr Haroun Adamu, the founder of Zaria Academy, Kaduna has now introduced in the country.
The contestants collaborated with and used the facilities of the Nigeria –Turkish International College (NTIC), Abuja under the supervsion of Mr Ayhan Yaman, the college’s Head of Physics Department.
Ademehin told The Guardian that God made it possible for him to achieve his feat. His words: “For this achievement, I thank my God and Father ultimately. I appreciate the support I received from my family: nuclear, extended, and spiritual. I appreciate the Ministry of Education in Nigeria and the National Mathematical Centre (NMC). I appreciate the support I received from the Nigerian Turkish International College (NTIC), and Yamanlar Koleji in Izmir, Turkey for housing, feeding and their interest in me and the science olympiads.
“Specifically, I appreciate the support I received from Mr. Yaman Ayhan of NTIC and my Mr. Omer of Yamanlar Koleji. Lastly, I appreciate the support I received from my friends, other members of the 2011 IPhO physics team for Nigeria, and everyone else.
“I believe Nigeria can do better in the IPhO if sufficient support is given to the Olympiads and the students. I advise that the Olympiads (in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Informatics) be taken more seriously and given a high priority.”
Bamidele said: “The competition lasted for 10 days, with two days in-between several outings, dedicated for the theoretical and experimental examinations.
“The first examination was the theoretical, which consisted of three questions that was to be written for five hours and the second was the experimental part, with two experiments which equally lasted for five hours. The questions in each exam had their difficulties and proved to be hard for some contestants.
“The last day of the event was the closing ceremony where the contestants were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. Below bronze was the honorable mention certificate, which was also awarded to some contestants. It was also during this event that the first medal (bronze) for Africa at IPhO was awarded to a Nigerian contestant- Jesuoluwajoba Ebenezer Ademehin.”
Another contestant, Folami Samson Oluwaseun said: “This year’s competition commenced with the opening ceremony, although the Nigerian Team missed the ceremony because one of our flights was cancelled. The competition had two parts; the theoretical and experimental competition which were held on separate days. Many students had a tough time with the theoretical competition because it had more of calculus than the physics problems itself, while the experimental competition was a bit easier for me.
“We all tried our best to get the ultimate goal, which is to win a gold medal, but it was only a member of the team that was able to get a bronze medal which is one of its kind in Africa.
“Glory be to Almighty God for crowning our efforts this year by raising the flag of Nigeria through Jesuoluwajoba Ademehin. I also thank God for granting us safe trips to and from the venue, even though we encountered a lot of difficulties during the journey.
“My sincere appreciation goes to the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja for their support, the Nigerian Turkish International College, Abuja for training and accomodating me, my school, Agbonran School of Science, Ede for their contribution and above all, my parents and siblings for their support.
The last contestant, Musa Damina could not be reached for comments at press time.
After first competition, the second IPhO was organised by Prof. Rudolf Kunfalvi in Budapest, Hungary, in 1968. The third was arranged by Prof. Rostislav Kostial in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1969, while the fourth took place in Moscow, the former Soviet Union, in 1970.
Ademehin’s feat makes it the first time ever that an African country would win a medal in any category in the Physics Olympiad, since it was first organized in Warsaw, Poland, in 1967.
About 390 students from 84 countries participated in the yearly event, held between July 10 and 18. A total of 54 gold, 68 silver and 93 bronze medals were distributed among the respective winners. Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya were the only African countries at the event, but the last two left, leaving Nigeria’s five contestants as the continent’s only representatives. Three of the five contestants: Ayodeji Bode-Oke, Musa Damina and Ayomide Bamidele are students of the Nigeria-Turkish International College, Abuja.
In this year’s contest, the best nine countries were from the Asian continent. They include Taiwan, China, Korea and Singapore, which clinched five gold medals each. Others were India, Kazakhstan, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong. Each of them won three gold medals.
It was hardly surprising that the best countries were from the same region, Asia, because their respective governments are known to pay serious attention to all Olympiads, especially those related to the sciences. Malaysia, another Asian country, is also popularly known for Mental Arithmetic, which Dr Haroun Adamu, the founder of Zaria Academy, Kaduna has now introduced in the country.
The contestants collaborated with and used the facilities of the Nigeria –Turkish International College (NTIC), Abuja under the supervsion of Mr Ayhan Yaman, the college’s Head of Physics Department.
Ademehin told The Guardian that God made it possible for him to achieve his feat. His words: “For this achievement, I thank my God and Father ultimately. I appreciate the support I received from my family: nuclear, extended, and spiritual. I appreciate the Ministry of Education in Nigeria and the National Mathematical Centre (NMC). I appreciate the support I received from the Nigerian Turkish International College (NTIC), and Yamanlar Koleji in Izmir, Turkey for housing, feeding and their interest in me and the science olympiads.
“Specifically, I appreciate the support I received from Mr. Yaman Ayhan of NTIC and my Mr. Omer of Yamanlar Koleji. Lastly, I appreciate the support I received from my friends, other members of the 2011 IPhO physics team for Nigeria, and everyone else.
“I believe Nigeria can do better in the IPhO if sufficient support is given to the Olympiads and the students. I advise that the Olympiads (in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Informatics) be taken more seriously and given a high priority.”
Bamidele said: “The competition lasted for 10 days, with two days in-between several outings, dedicated for the theoretical and experimental examinations.
“The first examination was the theoretical, which consisted of three questions that was to be written for five hours and the second was the experimental part, with two experiments which equally lasted for five hours. The questions in each exam had their difficulties and proved to be hard for some contestants.
“The last day of the event was the closing ceremony where the contestants were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. Below bronze was the honorable mention certificate, which was also awarded to some contestants. It was also during this event that the first medal (bronze) for Africa at IPhO was awarded to a Nigerian contestant- Jesuoluwajoba Ebenezer Ademehin.”
Another contestant, Folami Samson Oluwaseun said: “This year’s competition commenced with the opening ceremony, although the Nigerian Team missed the ceremony because one of our flights was cancelled. The competition had two parts; the theoretical and experimental competition which were held on separate days. Many students had a tough time with the theoretical competition because it had more of calculus than the physics problems itself, while the experimental competition was a bit easier for me.
“We all tried our best to get the ultimate goal, which is to win a gold medal, but it was only a member of the team that was able to get a bronze medal which is one of its kind in Africa.
“Glory be to Almighty God for crowning our efforts this year by raising the flag of Nigeria through Jesuoluwajoba Ademehin. I also thank God for granting us safe trips to and from the venue, even though we encountered a lot of difficulties during the journey.
“My sincere appreciation goes to the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja for their support, the Nigerian Turkish International College, Abuja for training and accomodating me, my school, Agbonran School of Science, Ede for their contribution and above all, my parents and siblings for their support.
The last contestant, Musa Damina could not be reached for comments at press time.
After first competition, the second IPhO was organised by Prof. Rudolf Kunfalvi in Budapest, Hungary, in 1968. The third was arranged by Prof. Rostislav Kostial in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1969, while the fourth took place in Moscow, the former Soviet Union, in 1970.
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