From Tems to 3 Yobe teens, other remarkable Nigerians making waves globally (Pictures)
Story by Shalom KASIM
If you only go by the headlines, Nigeria’s story sounds like a broken record: scams, bad economy, politicians fighting on live TV, etc. That is the picture most people see, but look a little closer and you will notice that Nigerians are quietly making waves all over the world. In just the first eight months of 2025, we have seen it all, from Grammy wins, world records, historic appointments, and groundbreaking research.
From sports to music, science and diplomacy, Nigerians are turning up in places that matter and leaving their mark. These wins prove there is more to our story than the drama on the front page. And honestly, it is about time we gave these people their flowers.
Yobe Teens: Nafisa, Rukayya and Hadiza
At the 2025 TeenEagle Global English Championship held in London, three Nigerian students from Yobe State emerged as top performers among more than 20,000 participants representing 69 countries. Competing under the banner of Nigerian Tulip International College (NTIC), Yobe, the all-female team earned global recognition for their individual achievements in English language proficiency and debate.
Seventeen-year-old Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu was named Overall Best in English, while Rukayya Muhammad Fema, 15, won the Best in Debate category. Hadiza Kashim Kalli received the Outstanding Talent Award (Gold), further underscoring the team’s strong showing on the international stage. The success of the three students attracted widespread national attention and praise.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu commended the team, describing them as symbols of the country’s intellectual potential and a testament to the importance of investing in girls’ education. Similarly, renowned diplomat and lawyer Kashim Musa Tumsah, MFR, awarded each student ₦500,000 and a new laptop in recognition of their accomplishments. In Yobe State, Governor Mai Mala Buni approved an official reception to honour the students. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to educational development, particularly in promoting access and excellence in girls’ education.
READ ALSO: Yobe student emerges overall best in debate at 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals in London (Pictures)
Music
At the 67th Grammy Awards which took place in February this year, Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems made history by clinching the inaugural Best African Music Performance award, a new category introduced to spotlight contemporary sounds from the continent. Her winning track, Love Me Jeje is a nostalgic reimagining of Seyi Sodimu’s 1990s classic. Other songs nominated in the same category include Tomorrow by Yemi Alade, MMS by Asake and Wizkid, Higher by Burna Boy, and Sensational by Chris Brown featuring Davido and Lojay. It was a landmark night for the Lagos-born artist who, with this win, became the first Nigerian to take home the award since its creation.
Diplomacy
In June, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, was elected Chairperson of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Council, becoming the first Nigerian to hold the position in the history of the global body.
The election, which took place during the WCO’s annual Council sessions in Brussels, places Nigeria for the first time at the forefront of the international customs policymaking landscape. Adeniyi’s one-year term officially commenced on July 1, 2025, and will see him preside over the deliberations of the WCO Council, which comprises the heads of customs administrations from 186 member countries.
The Council serves as the highest decision-making body within the organisation, responsible for setting strategic priorities and adopting instruments that guide global customs operations. His appointment comes at a time when the WCO is focused on issues such as trade facilitation, digital transformation, and enhanced cross-border cooperation, particularly in the context of global supply chain resilience and the rise of e-commerce.
Adeniyi’s election follows a period of increased visibility for the Nigeria Customs Service on the global stage, driven by reforms and modernisation initiatives under his leadership since his confirmation as Comptroller-General in October 2023.
Sports
In July 2025, Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, secured their fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket championship. The tournament, held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, concluded with Nigeria defeating Senegal in the final, marking their seventh overall AfroBasket title. In recognition of their achievement, each player was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), alongside a monetary award of $100,000 and a gift of a three-bedroom apartment.
READ ALSO: Nigeria reigns again as D’Tigress topple Mali to win 5th consecutive AfroBasket title
Coaches and technical personnel also received national honours and financial compensation, according to the Nigerian Ministry of Information. The championship win adds to a growing legacy for D’Tigress, whose back-to-back titles from 2017 to 2025 have brought renewed attention to the development of the sport within the country.
In July 2024, Nigeria’s national women’s football team, the Super Falcons, secured their tenth Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title with a dramatic 3–2 victory in Rabat, Morocco. The final, which saw the Falcons come from two goals down to defeat South Africa, marked one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of the tournament.
Trailing 2–0 in the first half, the Nigerian side rallied with three unanswered goals in the second, displaying tactical discipline and individual brilliance under pressure. The victory reaffirmed Nigeria’s longstanding dominance in African women’s football, with the team now holding ten WAFCON titles, more than any other nation.
At the 2025 NCAA East Preliminary meet in Florida, Nigerian sprinter Tima Godbless delivered a career-defining performance, clocking 10.91 seconds in the women’s 100 metres, setting a new personal best and recording the fastest time in the world so far this year. The 20-year-old Louisiana State University athlete’s feat placed her fourth on Nigeria’s all-time list, behind legends Blessing Okagbare, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Glory Alozie. Her dominance led a broader wave of Nigerian excellence across events at the preliminaries: in the men’s 400 metres, Edidiong Udo and Samuel Ogazi both won their heats with strong times, while three Nigerians (Kanyinsola Ajayi, Fakorede Nicholas, and Sunday Israel Okon) progressed in the men’s 100 metres.
Over in the West Prelims in Texas, Ezekiel Nathaniel, reigning African Games champion, cruised through his 400 metres hurdles heat in 49.37 seconds, and Charles Godfred topped the men’s long jump qualifiers with a season’s best of 8.10 metres, extending his unbeaten run in 2025.
During the 2024–25 season, Victor Osimhen’s career took a dramatic turn as he was loaned from Napoli to Galatasaray following failed transfer negotiations with Al-Ahli and Chelsea, and after being excluded from Napoli’s Serie A squad. Officially joining the Turkish club on 4 September 2024, Osimhen quickly made an explosive impact, scoring his first goals for Galatasaray with a brace against Kasımpaşa and following up with a sensational double against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League.
His prolific form continued throughout the season, including a memorable hat-trick against Antalyaspor and a brace in the Turkish Cup final versus Trabzonspor, where he was named player of the match. That final marked his 35th goal in 39 games, breaking Mario Jardel’s record for most goals in a single season by a foreign player in Turkey.
Osimhen capped off his dominant season by scoring 26 goals in the Süper Lig to finish as the league’s top scorer and help Galatasaray secure both the league title and the domestic cup. His bicycle kick against Antalyaspor was later voted Süper Lig Goal of the Season. Following his record-setting loan spell, Galatasaray secured Osimhen on a permanent four-year deal on 31 July 2025 for a Turkish record transfer fee of €75 million, making him the most expensive signing in Turkish football history.
Art
In 2025, Nigerian archaeologist Abidemi Babatunde Babalola was named a recipient of the prestigious Dan David Prize, one of the world’s largest awards for outstanding contributions to the study of history and the humanities. A research fellow at the British Museum and a leading scholar in West African archaeology, Babalola was recognised for his groundbreaking work on early glassmaking technologies and urban development in ancient Ile-Ife, a cultural and political centre of the Yoruba civilisation. In addition to the Dan David Prize, he also received the Conservation and Heritage Management Award and the Field Discovery Award from the Shanghai Archaeology Forum.
These accolades mark a significant moment for African scholarship within global academic circles, particularly in the fields of material culture, heritage management, and indigenous knowledge systems. Babalola’s work has been widely cited for its rigorous field methodology and its challenge to long-standing narratives about technological advancement in precolonial Africa.
Scholarship
In June, Dr. Timileyin Oluseyi, a Nigerian medical doctor based in the United States, made history by becoming the first Black resident to win all eight top awards at his residency program’s graduation ceremony, a record-setting achievement that has drawn widespread acclaim across Nigeria and the global medical community. Oluseyi’s honours spanned excellence in clinical performance, research, leadership, and compassionate patient care, distinguishing him as the most outstanding resident in the institution’s history.
His unprecedented feat surpassed all of his peers across key performance metrics, and was recognised when the program’s director and department chair paid tribute by prostrating (a traditional Yoruba gesture of deep respect) on the stage during the ceremony. The ceremony also took a lighter turn when fellow residents humourously presented Oluseyi with a white wheelbarrow to carry home his many awards.
In the same vein, Oluwadamilare Dauda, a final-year PhD scholar at Osun State University, received international recognition after being awarded the Young Scientist Award by the National Veterinary School of Toulouse in France, honouring his research on the blackfly transmission of river blindness (onchocerciasis) in southwest Nigeria.
The award, announced via a statement by the French Embassy in Nigeria, celebrates outstanding early-career researchers from low- and middle-income countries working in the field of entomology, particularly those contributing to global disease control.
According to the embassy, Dauda’s work supports critical public health efforts aimed at combating one of the region’s most persistent vector-borne diseases. In addition to receiving the award, Dauda participated in a specialised summer course in Toulouse, where he further deepened his expertise in disease vectors alongside an international cohort of researchers.
The French Embassy facilitated his visa process as part of its broader commitment to strengthening academic ties and scientific collaboration between France and Nigeria.
When you line up all these wins side by side, you will understand that Nigeria’s global story is not just about crises and scandals. Nigerians are showing that they can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best anywhere.
2025 is not over yet, and if the first half is anything to go by, there are plenty more flowers to hand out before the year ends.
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