Nigerian Student Breaks 108-Year-Old Record, Becomes First African to Win UN AFS Award, Gets N4.2m Cash Prize

Nigerian Student Breaks 108-Year-Old Record, Becomes First African to Win UN AFS Award, Gets N4.2m Cash Prize

  • A Nigerian student identified as Noel Ifeanyi Alumona has broken a 108-year-old record to clinch a global award never before given to an African
  • Alumona, an indigen of Enugu state currently studying in the United States, clinched the AFS Award for Young Global Citizens
  • The massive recognition came in respect of his not-for-profit work with his organisation named Boys Champion

Noel Ifeanyi Alumona, a Nigerian who is currently a student at Vanderbilt University, United States, has done the country proud as he has emerged winner of the 2022 AFS Award for Young Global Citizens.

The huge recognition came as a reward for his relentless work discouraging violence against women through Boys Champion, a not-for-profit organisation he founded in 2018.

Photos of Noel Ifeanyi Alumona and Delois Blakely.
Alumona said he never believed it was real. Photo credit: Noel Ifeanyi Alumona.
Source: Original

The competition was tough

In an interview, Alumona told Legit.ng that the selection process for the top prize was very competitive since there were 500 contestants.

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His words:

"It was very competitive. Firstly, over five hundred participants applied for this from across the world. These were smart young people doing amazing work in their countries. The application processes were very rigorous. We went through serries of interviews, vetting from where ten finalists emerged.
"After the pitching, the judges confirmed that it was a hard nut to crack for them."

The prize Alumona won was put together by the United Nations Department of Global Communication and was established in 1914. This means he broke a 108-year-old record to emerge not only the first Nigerian, but the first African to clinch it.

He expressed his joy when his name was announced:

"At some point I didn't think it was real until after a few seconds. I must say that these guys were so smart and were doing incredible things in their countries. Some of them are even students from Harvard, Yale and some other top universities. They were smart and had accomplished so much. Well, a day later, in an event to mark the end of the conference, I was named the winner."

Read also

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Alumona, got $10,000, an equivalent of about N4.2 million cash prize.

12-year-old girl 'admitted' as an auditor into Admiralty University, Ibusa

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian girl aged 12 years was 'admitted' into the Admiralty University, Ibusa.

The girl named Jessica Okonye is said to be exceptionally brilliant.

She will, however, study as an auditor student according to information released by the school.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Israel Usulor avatar

Israel Usulor (Human-Interest editor) Israel Usulor is a journalist who has 9 years of experience. He worked at The Prime Newspaper and has published articles in TheCable Newspaper. Israel graduated with distinction from Fidei Polytechnic (Mass Commun, 2016). Israel has interviewed Zannah Mustapha, the man who helped negotiate the release of Chibok Girls, and Kunle Adeyanju, who rode a bike from London to Lagos. He covered exclusive stories on Chef Dami during her Guinness World Records cookathon. Email: israel.usulor@corp.legit.ng.