This Nigerian student has made history.
Ufot Ekong is an engineering student currently at Tokai University in Tokyo. He’s multi-lingual — fluent in English, Japanese, French, Yoruba, and Ibibio — and has scored the best grades in the school’s history.
Ekong is also the recipient of the President’s Award, and he’s the first Nigerian recipient in the school’s history.
During his tenure at the university, he also earned six awards for academic excellence, including the Overall Best graduating student award.
The Nigerian student also has a master’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a doctorate in Power Electronics and Motor drives. Both of these degrees are from Tokai University.
But now, what about that 30-year-old math equation?
“It is an electrical problem involving mathematics and my entire research team is not allowed to discuss details of academic research, patents, and trade secrets as it regards electric vehicles. We are constrained by a confidentiality agreement not to discuss such projects,” Ekong told the Youth Alive Foundation.
Currently, Ekong — who is based in Japan — plays the saxophone in his free time and is also the founder of Strictly African Japan, a retail and accessories shop based in Tokyo that is, according to Face2Face Africa, “among the scores of Africans who have set up shops in Japan to share a piece of African culture with the Japanese.”
It bears noting, too, that the Nigerian student is completely self-sponsored — no grants from either Japan or Nigeria, nor is he on any scholarships — and despite all of the press surrounding his achievements, he has not been formally interviewed by any outlet to date.
“All of what you read is just hearsay,” Ekong told the Youth Alive Foundation.
But he did sit down for a video interview, which you can see below that can be found on YouTube.
