Nigerian teen gets 19 scholarship offers worth more than $5 million from the US and Canada

Vartha Bharati | 01-05-2021 | 00:12:00 IST

This report was first published in Cnn.com and has been posted here without any alterations or editing. To read the original report, CLICK HERE

One Nigerian teenager must feel like she has the world at her feet after receiving 19 full-ride scholarship offers from universities across the United States and Canada.

Victory Yinka-Banjo, a 17-year-old high school graduate, was offered more than $5 million dollars' worth of scholarship money for an undergraduate program of study, according to admission documents and estimates of financial aid awards.

"It still feels pretty unbelievable. I applied to so many schools because I didn't even think any school would accept me," Victory told CNN, relishing her academic prowess.

Born to Nigerian parents, Chika Yinka-Banjo, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, and Adeyinka Banjo, a private sector procurement and supply chain executive, Victory was given potential full scholarships from the Ivy League schools, Yale College, Princeton University, Harvard College, and Brown University.

The teenager told CNN that her multiple scholarship offers "have made me stand taller, smile wider, and pat myself on the back more often."

Other US scholarship offers included those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia.

In Canada, Victory was offered the Lester B. Pearson scholarship from the University of Toronto and the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow (KMILOT) scholarship from the University of British Columbia.

"Their admissions processes are extremely selective," Victory added. "They only accept the best of the best. So, you can imagine how, on a daily basis, I have to remind myself that I actually got into these schools. It is surreal!"

Academic strides

A senior prefect during her time in high school, Victory rose to national prominence in late 2020 after she scored straight As in her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Months earlier, the Nigerian teen had been rated as the "Top in the World" in English as a second language (speaking endorsement) by the University of Cambridge International Examination (CIE). Victory aced the Cambridge IGCSE exam -- acquiring A* in all six subjects she sat for.

Victory told CNN her remarkable achievements are borne out of hard work.

"They have made me truly feel proud about the hard work I have put into several areas of my life over the years. I am slowly beginning to realize that I deserve them," she said.

The teenager remarked that her multiple scholarship offers "have made me stand taller, smile wider, and pat myself on the back more often."

Victory said she hopes to study Computational Biology. However, she is still weighing up her options on which school to choose, having been wooed by many prestigious institutions.

"I am still doing research on some schools that are at the top of my list, like Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and just trying to compare and contrast all of them thoroughly," she told CNN.

An inspiration to Nigerian youth

Victory's mother, Chika, says her daughter's story could inspire other young Nigerians.

"It is noteworthy that she is not one of the Nigerian-Americans who often get into these schools because of their advantage of being born and bred in the US. She completed her secondary school here [in Nigeria]. It would be great if her story can be used to inspire the youths of our country," she told CNN.

Victory credits her academic success story to faith, parental guidance and discipline. She currently spends some of her free time tutoring other university admission seekers -- through the radio -- on key subjects such as math, English language, biology, chemistry and physics.

Courtesy: cnn.com

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Rahul Gandhi unveils 5 poll guarantees for Kerala, targets PM Modi and CM Vijayan

07-03-2026 ¦ 07-03-2026 IST

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (FILE PHOTO PTI)

Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): In a high-stakes campaign here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday combined five populist electoral pledges with a fierce assault on Kerala’s ruling Communists, alleging Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is being "controlled" by Narendra Modi in the same manner Donald Trump exerts influence over the Prime Minister.

Speaking at the valedictory function of the state-wide ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ led by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan as part of the Congress-led UDF’s preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, Gandhi said, “The same way Trump is controlling Modi, the Prime Minister is controlling the Chief Minister of Kerala."

Announcing five guarantees for the people of poll-bound Kerala, he said, “The first guarantee is free travel for all women in KSRTC buses."

The other guarantees announced by him were a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for college-going girl students, increase of welfare pension to Rs 3,000 per month, a new health insurance scheme worth Rs 25 lakh coverage for every household in the name of former chief minister Oommen Chandy and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for youngsters who want to start businesses.

In addition, he said a dedicated ministry would be created for the welfare of senior citizens.

Launching a scathing attack on Pinarayi Vijayan, Gandhi said PM Modi is "controlling the Chief Minister".

He alleged that even CPI(M) workers were aware of this and would admit it.

“I want to understand why the CBI and ED take action against opposition politicians but do not take action against the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said.

Gandhi said there were 36 cases against him and that he was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for 55 hours.

“Why has the ED taken no action against the Chief Minister and his family? The reason is they are working together,” he alleged.

According to him, in Kerala, it was not the CPI(M) and BJP, but the “CJP” that was working together to defeat the UDF.

Gandhi also accused the LDF government of "functioning in the interests of big corporates".

“This is the most corporatist government Kerala has ever seen. It is against the interests of workers, small businesses and farmers and is working for the interests of the biggest businessmen,” he alleged.

He said the CPI should be renamed the “Corporate Party of India”.

“At least stand for what you say you are,” he said.

Referring to the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala temple, Gandhi claimed that the investigation was prevented from reaching the top leadership.

“Don’t worry, we will take strict action against those who dishonoured Sabarimala."

He also alleged that the LDF government had created a serious unemployment situation in the state.

“Modi has destroyed the employment system in India and the CPI(M) has destroyed it in Kerala,” he said.

Taking on the Centre, Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had “let the country down”.

“He has betrayed the country,” Gandhi said.

He said he was using the word deliberately and believed the Prime Minister had "betrayed the country" by signing the trade deal with the United States.

Gandhi claimed that the consequences of the agreement would be borne by the people of India.

“No Prime Minister before him opened our agriculture to American agriculture. Large American mechanised firms are going to compete with small Indian labour-intensive firms,” he said.

He said the deal would lead to devastation for farmers cultivating crops such as cotton, corn, pulses, fruits and soybeans.

Gandhi also claimed that the Prime Minister had "compromised" the country’s energy security.

“Imagine the Prime Minister of India committing to President Trump that we will buy oil from where America wants us to. Imagine a country as powerful as ours having to take permission from the US if we want to buy oil from Russia,” he said.

Referring to the trade deal, he said the US could extract data from India, which he described as the "most valuable asset" in the era of artificial intelligence.

“AI is all about data and India, with 1.4 billion people, is the largest producer of data. All of it has been signed away by Prime Minister Modi,” he alleged.

Earlier in the day, during a dialogue with the Information Technology (IT) Fraternity at Technopark here, Gandhi said that if India had said that its data was the most valuable in the world, there would have been no taxes on agriculture or on small and medium businesses.

He claimed that, except him speaking out against it, there was "not a peep" in India when its data was "handed over" to the US as part of the deal signed by the central government.

During his interaction with the tech professionals, the LoP in Lok Sabha also said that China has built a "superb and unmatched" industrial system in the world, but the neighbouring nation was "coercive and undemocratic".

He was also concerned that China dominated the electric motors and batteries technology which saw wide usage in the Ukraine-Russia war and the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

"That is a huge problem," he said, adding that he was confident that if aligned properly, an Indian company can take on the Chinese in that space.