When a teenager from Yobe, Nafisat Abdullahi Aminu, was crowned overall best at the TeenEagle Global Finals in London, outperforming peers from dozens of countries, you would expect Nigeria to put her on a national pedestal. She did the country proud, and even the Presidency publicly congratulated her and her teammates. This is the kind of achievement young Nigerians should be taught to emulate.
Yet, recent headlines have been dominated by the Ibom Air saga, with talk that Comfort Emmanson, the passenger at the centre of an onboard altercation, might be made an “ambassador for good passenger conduct.” Whatever the intent, the optics are upside-down, misbehaviour gets the spotlight while excellence gets a footnote. Aviation stakeholders can educate the public without glamorising misconduct.
The deeper issue is policy. Nigeria operates, studies, and innovates in English. Our students constantly prove proficiency, Nafisat most recently and spectacularly, yet many still face costly, repetitive hurdles like IELTS or SELT for study abroad.
The truth is that some countries have turned these requirements into money-making ventures, fully aware that Nigerians are in many cases better users of English than their own citizens. We are an English-speaking nation by constitution, education, and practice, yet we are still subjected to time-wasting and expensive tests that add no real value.
The United Kingdom, for example, sets English thresholds for admissions but also allows Higher Education Institutions to assess applicants’ English themselves for degree-level study, meaning a separate test is not required if the university confirms proficiency on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.
This pathway should be normalised and publicised. At the same time, Nigeria should push for broader recognition of WAEC and NECO results as proof of English, and lobby to end blanket testing for Nigerian students. We should be exempted from such redundant processes just as several other countries already are.
Nafisat’s win should attract more than polite applause. She should be appointed as a youth ambassador for learning and literacy, with nationwide school tours, debates, and reading clubs built around her story. That is how to broadcast the values worth reproducing.
At the same time, rewarding notoriety sends the wrong message. Aviation operators can run safety campaigns without elevating controversial figures into ambassadorial roles.
The bottom line is clear let us elevate the exemplar, not the spectacle. Make Nafisat the face of youth excellence and align our policies with reality by ending redundant English tests for Nigerians wherever the rules already allow, while negotiating broader waivers where they do not.
That way, we inspire millions and save them both money and time, while refusing to be taken for granted in systems that profit from our proven competence.
By Bola Babarinde
