Why is this young Nigerian man making waves in Japan?

The name Ufot Ekong Junior is a relatively unknown name, but is definitely a name you should remember. “Why should I know this name?” I hear you ask. Well for those of you who do not know or haven’t heard yet, Ufot Ekong is the name of a young Nigerian student currently making waves in Japan.

What is it that is so impressive about this young man from Nigeria? Well, Ufot Ekong Jnr, 24, who had studied at Tokyo’s Tokai University, a private university which was established in 1942 by Shigeyoshi Matsumae, has rather spectacularly managed to achieve the highest grades at the prestigious university and universities nationwide in Japan, for the last 50 years, a record which has stood since 1965.

Not only has Ufot Jnr succeeded in breaking the 50 year old record for highest grades achieved in the private Japanese university, he is also credited with solving a previous ‘unsolvable’ maths equation which had stood to see many unsuccessful attempts for the last 30 years. He managed to solve the quizzical equation amazingly in his first semester at Tokai University.

That wasn’t all for Ufot Jnr’s achievements, throughout his university career, through dedication and hard work he immersed himself in his work and managed to earn a staggering 6 academic excellence awards. In the end he graduated with a first class degree with honours in electrical and electronics engineering.

He had no need for a translator or translations as such, as Ufot Jnr is fluent in Japanese seeing that previous to enrolling himself on the electrical and electronics engineering undergraduate course, he studied Japanese for a year and a half. He is also fluent in English, French and Yoruba; it wouldn’t be surprising if he added Hebrew to this list of languages.

All of these wonderful achievements in academia for a man so young and in a country not of his mother tongue and perhaps the most amazing this is that he is completely self-funded and managed to put himself through the respected university by working 2 jobs whilst studying with no financial aid. He is currently studying for a master’s degree at the same university with a view to pursuing a PHD in the future.

Whatever Mr Ufot Ufot Ekong Junior goes on to achieve in his life, his story should be used as inspiration and himself and individuals like him should be celebrated.

Photo credits: Ufot Ekong Twitter