17-year-old best JAMB candidate, 29 others get US scholarships

The 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) highest scorer, Ekene Ezeunala, has been offered scholarship to study Computer Science and Mathematics at the Columbia University in New York, United State.
He got the scholarship along with 29 other Nigerian brilliant students.
The 17-year-old, who graduated from Meiran Community Senior High School in Lagos, scored 347 out of 400.
Ezeunala was among the 30 Opportunity Funds Programme (OFP) scholars of the US Embassy, who have received fully-funded scholarships totaling $4.35million to pursue higher education in American universities and colleges for the 2021/2022 academic session.
The beneficiaries comprised six undergraduates, three masters and 21 doctoral candidates
Speaking Thursday in Lagos at a reception in honour of the scholars, US Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, urged them to make the most of their opportunity to get a top-notch education while gaining first-hand experience of American life and culture.
Responding, Ezeunala described the scholarship as a life-changing experience, which he said has opened up a new world of opportunities and resources he never knew were available to him.
Nigeria retained its top ranking as the number one source of African students studying in the United States, according to a report by US Institute of International Education.

It said 13,762 Nigerians are currently studying at more than 1,000 US colleges and universities.