The uniqueness of the globally-acclaimed ?Nigerian Spirit? of innovation, resilience, survival and succeeding against various odds was recently brought to the world?s attention again by the outgone President of the United States, Joe Biden.

That was on January 14, 2025 when some Nigerian-born scientists, technologists and engineers were selected from 14 United States government agencies and honoured for their ground-breaking contributions in their various fields of human endeavour.

They were amongst 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) presented in the US.

From the historical perspective, the award was established by the former US President, Bill Clinton, in 1996 as the highest honour granted by the United States government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

Amongst the awardees are: Gilbert Lilly, Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioural Science ), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, and Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral Researcher, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Others include:

Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biology, Northeastern University; Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University, and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive Vice Chairman, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case School of Engineering, Case West Reserve University.

Without any iota of doubt, we are immensely proud of their sterling achievements and more so for putting Nigeria on the bright and brilliant global map of science, engineering and technology.

And as President Bola Tinubu recently stated in response to their feats, it is good for Biden to have recognised ?these exceptional talents which underscores Nigeria?s vast potentials to excel both at home and on the global stage?. Yet, this heart-warming scenario brings up some pertinent questions demanding urgent answers.

But that would only be strengthened by a political leadership buoyed with pro-people policies and selfless service, more by action than by rhetoric

For instance, could these awardees have excelled under an inclement educational environment bedevilled by sudden hike in the costs of school fees, accommodation, and logistics including transportation to and fro school as well as low lecturer-student ratio and in the absence of quality research materials?

Could they have benefited from an erratic study situation with lecturers of public universities going off campus in protests over poor pay packages and inclement operational environment for as long as eight to nine months of the academic session?

The answers should be crystal clear to our political policy makers as well as those who breathe life into them. Yet, there are other significant lessons to learn from President Biden?s honour to Nigerian born scientists, engineers and technologists.

Basically, that has to do with how much their fatherland, Nigeria, has benefitted from their wealth of requisite knowledge and products of their creative ingenuity.

In fact, much more has been heard about the scientific and technological achievements of Prof. Philip Emeagwali ? one of the founding fathers of the internet;

Dr. Samuel Achilefu, who brought forth the cancer cell detecting goggles, and Silas Adekunle, the world?s highest paid robotics engineer, than the ordinary Nigerian citizens have benefited from their inventions and innovations.

So, beyond President Tinubu looking forward to ?the honourees sharing their multi-disciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria?s development efforts? there should be a well-articulated programme in that regard.

For instance, it would assist us all if our policy makers go beyond mere rhetoric to institute sustainable collaborative efforts between and amongst these geniuses, their products and the ministries of International Affairs, Science and Technology, in addition to that of Agriculture and Food Security back home.

What more, with a Nigerian, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as the current President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and another Nigerian of repute, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala heading the World Trade Organisation (WTO), this is the best of times to kick-start this pragmatic policy into a lifechanging programme.

Another aspect of the laudable achievements of the Nigerianborn awardees to build upon is the Nigerian brand. As experts on branding and marketing reiterate ?image is everything?. What it means therefore, is for the Federal Government to latch on the achievements of these heroes to promote the positive attributes of the nation to the international community.

Similar to what both Nollywood movies and the Afro- beat music have done to project Nigerians and the nation as creative people, an insight into the achievements of the scientists and engineers will go a long way to stand us strong in the positive light.

The lessons from all of these important issues, as presented by our best of brains in the Diaspora, the US in particular, include the increasing need to rebrand Nigeria as home to brilliant minds, creativity and innovations. But that would only be strengthened by a political leadership buoyed with pro-people policies and selfless service, more by action than by rhetoric. (New Telegraph)

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