Obama Praises Nigerian Teenager, Saheela Ibraheem

A 19-year-old Nigerian girl named Saheela Ibraheem got the attention President Barak Obama of the USA recently. The world’s most powerful man was left with no other option than to pour encomium on the girl at the White House in Washington DC.

Saheela was among one of the 'World's 50 Smartest Teenagers.'

She was honoured by the American president and his wife, Michelle, with an official invitation at the White House as part of the celebrations of the 'Black History Month' in the US.

Saheela got into Ivy League Harvard at the age of 15 to study Neurology and will be graduating May 2015. She was offered admission at the age of 13 into MIT, Princeton, Columbia, and six Ivy League institutions but she chose Ivy League Harvard and became the youngest person to ever attend the school.

“There are a lot of teenagers in the world. Saheela is like one of the 50 smartest ones. That’s pretty smart. And she’s a wonderful young lady. She’s like the State Department and the National Institute of Health all rolled into one. And we are so proud of your accomplishments and all that lies ahead of you. And you reflect our history. Young people like you inspire our future,” Obama said.

The young lady said, "If you are passionate about what you do, and I am passionate about most of these things, especially with math and science, it will work out well,” she told CBS 2's Cindy Hsu.

Her mother, Shakirat Ibraheem, said her daughter had always wanted to do things by herself, “She is like always independent. I never get to help with her homework because she would say ‘it’s my work mommy, not yours.”