Edited by Paul Elegbeleye
Every August, Geeky Nigeria’s Children’s Special celebrates young minds who dream big. This year’s theme is all about celebrating curious minds and inspiring the innovators of tomorrow. And nobody fits that theme better than Nigerian child inventors.
You do not need to be an adult to build something amazing. You do not even need fancy tools. All you need is curiosity, a problem to solve, and the courage to try. These five young Nigerians prove that point perfectly, and so, let’s meet them.
Table of Contents
Our first on the list is Chika Ofili, “The Boy Who Found a New Maths Formula”
Chika Ofili was only 12 years old when he did something no one had done before. His teacher gave him a holiday assignment about divisibility rules. These are simple tricks that help you know if a number can be divided evenly by another number, like 2, 3, or 5. But there was no easy trick for checking divisibility by 7.
Chika decided to create one himself. He came up with a formula that works like this: take the last digit of any whole number, multiply it by 5, then add that to the rest of the number. If the new number can be divided by 7, then the original number can too.
His discovery earned him the TruLittle Hero Award in the United Kingdom, where he lives. Chika’s story shows that even a homework assignment can turn into something extraordinary if you look at it with curious eyes.
Our second child-wonder today is Fathia Abdullahi, “The Girl Who Built a Robot to Fold Clothes”
Folding laundry can feel like a never-ending chore, especially on busy weekends. Fathia Abdullahi, a 12-year-old Nigerian girl, decided to fix that problem with code.
She had only started learning to code a year earlier. Yet she built a robot prototype using simple materials like pins, beams, and a small programmable brick. Her invention could fold a T-shirt in just three seconds.
Fathia hopes to grow her invention one day, so families everywhere can use it. Her story teaches us that you do not need years of experience to start building. You just need one problem you want to solve and the willingness to learn.
The next prodigy on our list is Oluwatobiloba Owolola, “The Boy Who Built a Robot That Grabs Things”
Around the same time as Fathia, another 12-year-old Nigerian, Oluwatobiloba Owolola, was also busy with his own robot. He designed a robot arm that could sense objects nearby and move them to wherever they were needed.
Oluwatobiloba built his robot because he wanted to make everyday tasks around the house easier. He says he hopes to become a robotics engineer when he grows up. His invention is proof that young Nigerians are already thinking like the engineers of the future.
The next star is Ukoma Michael, “The Boy Who Built a Fan That Works Without Electricity”
Power cuts are a common part of life in many Nigerian homes. Ukoma Michael, a 13-year-old boy from Imo State, decided to do something about the heat that comes with those power cuts. He built a battery-powered fan that could run for close to a full day without needing to be plugged into electricity.
He made the fans himself, using materials like aluminium and wire, and even sold some of them under his own brand name.
Ukoma dreams of one day starting his own company that builds fans and aircraft. His story shows that great inventions often come from solving problems we face every single day.
Finally for today, we have the brilliant Eniola Sokunbi, “The Girl Who Designed an Air Filter for Classrooms”
Eniola Sokunbi is a Nigerian-American girl who was just 12 years old when her school gave her class a project. They were asked to think of ways to keep classrooms safer during future health emergencies, inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eniola designed a simple air filter using everyday items like a box fan, furnace filters, cardboard, and tape. Her idea worked so well that it caught the attention of scientists and local government officials, who agreed to fund the filters for classrooms.
Eniola’s invention reminds us that helping others does not always require expensive materials. Sometimes, all it takes is a good idea and a willingness to build it.
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What These Young Inventors Teach Us
Notice something these five children have in common: none of them waited to grow up before trying to solve a problem. They looked around them, found something that could be better, and got to work.
You do not need a laboratory full of equipment to be an inventor, you just need to notice a problem, however small, and ask yourself: “How can I fix this?” That question is where every invention begins.
So the next time you see something that annoys you or feels difficult, do not just complain about it. Think like Chika, Fathia, Oluwatobiloba, Ukoma, and Eniola. Who knows? Your idea might be the next big Nigerian invention the world gets to hear about.
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