The whiz kid in the picture is of the name Zuweira Baba Mohammed and this name, as of 29th June 2017, is worth over GHC5,000 having been arbitrated the best female contestant and only female contestant at semi-final level in the prestigious National Science and Maths Competition (NSMQ).
The 2017 edition of the NSMQ, considered the stiffest yet in all its 23 years in existence, was scheduled to begin in June with a total of 135-second cycle schools which, invariably, casted a total of 270 contestants (male and female). However, it was Zuweira’s performance that caught the eyes of the organizers and the hearts of the audience as they chanted “Zuweira! Zuweira! Zuweira!” in encouragement of the child prodigy.
Zuweira, alongside her team mate, Yunus Maltiti Mohammed, represented Tamale SHS and by the quarter finals, represented the entire Northern region in a clash against University Practice SHS from the Central region and KNUST from the Ashanti region.
Although the Northern flame was snuffed out prematurely, one candle has continued to burn bright. Zuweira Baba Mohammed is applauded not only for her brainpower but also bravery; having contested in a male dominated arena and succeeded in marking a territory for herself that delivered/elevated her to the level of Ghana’s youngest female academic superstar.
Zuweira’ performance left an impression so imposing it was awarded the NMSQ’s first ever “Prof. Ewurama Addy awards” with a cash price of GHC2,000. According to a post by Pulse Gh., the “Prof. Ewurama Addy award was inspired by Prof. Ewurama Addy, the first mistress of the NSMQ, who died in 2014 at the age of 72, and was inaugurated to embolden young girls to study science.
Zuweira represents a movement bigger than herself, a movement even bigger than mathematical prowess but also a drive that is lacking in a large percentage of the female sex – the drive for science. We have seen that in diverse fields where females dare into that not only do they survice but thrive even in the midst of their male counterparts, fields that previously were believed to be for “a man’s fit”. Zuweira is an ambassador of the concept of possibility and has earned the title of the 2017 Ghanaian Wonder girl.