At home and school, he is called professor not because he has attained that envious academic status but for the reason that he exudes excellence in speech and actions.
‘Prof’ Ikechukwu Nwachukwu Dikko, an American of Nigerian parentage and a teenager, has been clinching awards both in his elite high school, Notre Dame High School in Connecticut and the White House.
The latest laurels won by the youngster, who was one of the best soccer and basketballers in high school, are The Presidential Award For Elite Scholarship In America and the Connecticut Seal of Biliteracy.
The presidential award is given to youngsters who distinguish themselves in scholarly endeavours while the Seal is awarded to students of Notre Dame proficient in at least eight foreign languages.
Ikechukwu whose father once sought to become the governor of Connecticut on the platform React Party, speaks 10 languages, including Igbo, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Dutch and German.
The glitz and buzz that hitherto were the icing on the achievements were lost this year to the Coronavirus pandemic. But the White House and Notre Dame were not ready to let the virus have an upper hand. They sent delegations on different dates to deliver the awards in the homes of the awardees.
White House, in a letter personally signed by President Donald Trump, and sent to the awardees, described Ikechukwu as a high academic flyer destined to achieve greatness in life.
Notre Dame, from where Ikechukwu would be proceeding to the college this fall, said it was it was not surprised by the ability of Ikechukwu and other awardees in attaining the feat.
In a brief chat with The Nation, Ikechukwu, whose ambition is to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA), said the awards have motivated him to “keep striving for greater success’’ in his academic pursuits.
