A 10-year-old Nigerian pupil, Oluwademilade Odumuboni, won the global grand prize of the 2022/23 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.
In the 2022/2023 competition, the student from Corona School in Gbagada, Lagos, participated and defeated 782,852 other competitors from 90 nations to take home the coveted award.
The world judged Master Odumuboni’s innovation, a waste converter with the idea of assisting nations, particularly African villages, in food production and guaranteeing a clean environment, to be the best.
The $5,000 cash prize, a plaque, and a certificate were given to the victor at a special event that Toyota Nigeria Limited planned.
$10,000 was also given to his school. The prize money is intended to be used for education.
The schoolboy’s inventiveness, according to Toyota (Nigeria) Limited’s Managing Director, Mr Kunle Ade-Ojo, has given him a place on the map of the world.
“His unique and genuinely inspirational idea, expressed in an equally creative drawing, earned him a global grand prize in the contest, beating over 782,852 contestants from 90 countries and regions.
“This way, Toyota is also cultivating a lifetime friendship with all these children while encouraging them to care for our planet and push their imagination beyond limits,” he stated.
Giving some details about the competition, Ade-Ojo said that, annually, like other participating countries, three winners are picked in Nigeria from each age category: Category 1 (children not older than seven years); Category 2 (8–11 years); and Category 3 (12–15 years old), making nine winners.
The nine shortlisted national winners and their drawings are sent to Japan to compete with other pictures received from all over the world.
“Our Demilade is one of these three grand prize winners globally. He has been awarded 5,000 USD, and his school, Corona School, Gbagada, has been awarded 10,000 USD.”
Commending her student, the Head Teacher, Henrietta Eguagie, described his feat as a remarkable achievement, saying that he had brought glory to the school.
She also hailed Toyota for taking the initiative to inspire young people to unleash their creative expression and artistic potential.
As one of Nigeria’s leading educational institutions, we are dedicated to utilising this prize money in a manner that directly benefits the learning experiences and development of our students,” she said.
The event is organised annually by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Japan, for schoolchildren all over the world, challenging them to draw their dream cars with a free idea.
