A US-based Nigerian chemical engineer has paid ₦1 million to three Nigerian students who won gold medals at the International STEM Olympiad in Rome, Italy, making good on a public pledge he announced on social media within hours of the students’ victory going viral.
Dr. Michael Taiwo, a senior hydrogen specialist at Shell USA, announced the cash gift on X after education advocate Alex Onyia shared news of the Nigerian team’s performance at the competition, which drew contestants from more than 150 countries to the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.
Nigerian Students Sweep International STEM Olympiad Gold Medals in Rome
The Nigerian squad, comprising Chimdiebube Onwubiko, Don Anele Munachimso, and Egejurum Onyedikachi, claimed a combined four gold medals across mathematics and science categories. Onwubiko and Munachimso won gold in mathematics. Egejurum, who is 11 years old, took gold in the primary mathematics category. Munachimso added a second medal in science.
Onyia announced the results on X in stages, initially omitting Egejurum’s name before correcting the post. His first announcement read: “The wait is over. We have two golds: Chimdiebube Onwubiko and Don Anele Munachimso. We are the best in the world!”
The three students, aged 11, 13, and 17, earned their places at the Rome finale after finishing among the top performers at the Southeast Mathematics Olympiad, a regional competition Onyia organized that attracted more than 11,500 participants. Onyia personally covered the cost of the trip, including registration, visas, flights, and accommodation.
Taiwo responded to Onyia’s post with a direct offer: “This is an impressive achievement. Congratulations. I will be gifting these lads with 1M. Please DM me the bank details.”
Dr Taiwo Fulfils ₦1m Promise Within Hours of Public Pledge
The payment followed quickly. Community advocate Innocent Chukwudubem, who is connected to Onyia’s Southeast-focused ISEE education project, announced on X that the transfer had gone through, posting a screenshot of the transaction.
Chukwudubem wrote, “Promise made, promise kept. I am here to announce that Dr. Michael Taiwo has fulfilled his promise of supporting the STEM Olympiad lads with the 1M. Doc, talk and do. Thank you, sir. Thank you for your sacrifice and commitment to the ISEE project.”
Taiwo holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas and works in clean energy and carbon management at Shell USA. He founded the Michael Taiwo Scholarships in 2019, a program designed to help academically strong but financially constrained students from developing countries pursue graduate degrees abroad. The initiative has received tens of thousands of applications and has placed hundreds of scholars in universities internationally.
STEM Olympiad Victory Arrives as Nigeria Faces IMO Downgrade
The Rome result arrives at a complicated moment for Nigerian academic competition. Weeks before the STEM Olympiad final, education stakeholders disclosed that Nigeria had been downgraded to observer status at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad in Shanghai, China. Officials attributed the demotion to years of non-competitive participation linked to funding shortfalls.
The contrast between private intervention and institutional failure has drawn attention online. Onyia’s ISEE project, which operates with personal and diaspora funding rather than government backing, produced four gold medals from a field of over 150 countries while Nigeria remained a spectator at a separate mathematics competition organized by the international body.
Details of any government response to the students’ STEM Olympiad victory were not immediately available. The federal education ministry had not issued a public statement as of the time of this report.
Taiwo’s donation and Onyia’s personal sponsorship of the trip have prompted discussion on Nigerian social media about the role of diaspora professionals and private citizens in filling gaps that government education budgets have left open.
For Egejurum, Onwubiko, and Munachimso, the immediate outcome is a gold medal performance on an international stage and a cash reward from a Shell engineer who saw a post on X and acted on it the same day.
