By Bart Nwibe
It is in the DNA of Christ the King College (CKC) Onitsha to always put Nigeria on the pedestal of worldwide reckoning.
Our esteemed college has just done it again as history was made on Wednesday, April 10, when Nigeria emerged victorious at the prestigious World Affairs Challenge (WAC) 2024 following the excellent performance of five CKC students who represented the country.
As an acclaimed Primus Inter Pares, to wit, First Among Equals, CKC Onitsha represented the nation well by winning the coveted global first-place position, thus marking the first time Nigeria is clinching Gold in the competitions 32-year history.
Organized by WorldDenver, USA, the celebrated World Affairs Challenge empowers high school students to develop innovative solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this years keenly contested competition, the students tackled critical issues such as climate change, poverty, and inequality.
The triumphant CKC students, namely, Ekufu Ernest, Obuna Somtochukwu, Umeodinka Emmanuel, Ejike Ekene, and Ubah Jason, were led by their coach, Mr. John Onuigbo.
The prodigious students impressed the judges with their impactful project, Wise Tales by Primus, a captivating series of digital comic stories addressing environmental degradation, climate change, and substance abuse.
The landmark project, Wise Tales by Primus, aims to raise awareness and inspire positive change among young people.
It needs to be recalled that CKC Onitshas journey towards the global conquest started at the African Regional Competition, where the determined and inspired students were named the highest-scoring Nigerian team, and aced the top five in Africa.
The dogged CKC team then proceeded to pitch in the virtual global finals, and following a rigorous evaluation, the teams in-depth understanding and passionate delivery during the final Q&A session left a lasting impression.
While delivering the judgment of the competition, the judges paid glowing tributes to the CKC teams outstanding performance.
The judges deposed thusly: Excellent presentation and applications of SMART indexes with extraordinary action plans for global outreach through language translation and website creative solutions dynamics. This is innovative, creative, and illustrious.
In a watershed pronouncement, the winning students were officially declared the World Affairs Challenge 2024 Global Champion, surpassing teams from all over the globe participating in the championship. The CKC wonders came up tops while Redmond High School, WA, USA, and TEVITÖL High School, Turkey, came in as runners-up.
The inspirational principal of CKC, Rev. Fr. Celestine Arinze Okafor, said, CKC Onitshas victory extends beyond the competition. It signifies the immense potential and innovative spirit of Nigerian youth, who not only secured a historic win but also inspired others to tackle global challenges with creativity and dedication. These boys deserve all the support they can get to build and push their project to millions of users.
The world-conquering CKC Onitsha team will travel to Denver, Colorado, USA, later this month for the award ceremony.
Whilst participating in the award ceremony, the CKC wunderkinds will showcase their project to a global audience and connect with other young leaders.
The excellent global academic conquest of CKC this year makes one to recall when the college won the world schools cup in football back in 1977, a first time for a Nigerian team to win in a worldwide soccer competition.
All hail Christ the King College (CKC) Onitsha! Primus Inter Pares!
Engr Nwibe, FNSE, is Alumnus of CKC Class of 1980