DISCOVER NIGERIA: Nigeria’s Smartest… The Imafidon Family

By Nehi Igbinijesu

In March 2010, two really prodigious 9 years old became the youngest ever to be admitted into a Secondary School in the United Kingdom. Born to Nigerian migrant parents — Chris and Ann Imafidon — Peter and Paula from Waltham Forest, London, have consistently set joint world records. At just seven years old, the “Wonder Twins” as they have come to be known, passed an Advanced Level examination in Mathematics. A year later, they became the youngest students to pass the University of Cambridge Advanced Mathematics paper. Their siblings Ann-Marie, Christiana and Samantha  also hold records of their own. Ann-Marie the eldest, held the world record of being the youngest person to pass A-level Computing at 13. She won a scholarship from the British Government to study at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. At 15, Anne-Marie was admitted into the University of Oxford and went on to become the youngest person ever to graduate with a Masters degree, in 2010 at age 19. Christiana, the next sibling, became the youngest ever to be admitted into any undergraduate program in the United Kingdom at 12, while Samantha at 12, passed two O-level examinations in mathematics and statistics at age 6 and mentored the twins to achieve the same feat. Their father, Chris Imafidon, a researcher in ophthalmology, attributes his children’s remarkable achievements to their gifts being nurtured- not to them being “prodigies” In his words: “Every child is a genius. Once you identify the talent of a child and put them in the environment that will nurture that talent then the sky is the limit. Look at Tiger Woods, or the Williams sisters – they were nurtured.” The Imafidons  have been dubbed, “Britain’s Brainiest Family” for their many records. Who knows what more they will achieve? It speaks no small feat of what can be attained if we find the right environments.