Maths brains thrill at quiz contest!!!

Joseph Yeko and James Issa proved they were the champions to beat at the grand finale of the BRF quiz competition organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education last Thursday.

The duo left behind fellow finalists, Adeola JagboJagbo and Kayode Jasanya in the best individual mathematics category and went head to head for many more rounds, answering relatively difficult questions correctly, even when the time was reduced to five seconds.

The tie was finally broken when the duo were required to answer immediately after the question was read.  Yeko, of Epe Senior Grammar School, Epe, beat James to it.

The moderator was impressed by the way Yeko approached the question, saying he demonstrated a mastery that made him even faster than the teacher.

However, James had his pound of flesh back in the Senior Secondary School category of the competition in which he represented his school, Agindingbi Senior Grammar School, Agidingbi, with Rilwan Ayorinde.

James proved he was an all-rounder, excelling not only in Mathematics but also in English, Government, Current Affairs and Physics, some of which proved to be the Achilles heel of Yeko and his partner, Adeola.

Agidingbi Senior Grammar School defeated Epe Senior Grammar School with eight points, scoring a total of 24 points to lift the trophy.

Impressed by their performance, former Commissioner for Education and Health, Dr Leke Pitan, urged the government to give both boys scholarships to the best universities in the world.

He said: “The questions are fairly difficult and those students made many people feel like illiterates.  They blow your mind. I am highly impressed. They should be specially monitored, mentored to ensure that there is no barrier to their education. They should get scholarship to the highest level possible. Government should give them scholarship and help them to approach the very best schools around the world.”

On her part, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, said the government would continue to monitor them and when they get to the level of needing scholarship, they would get it.

She also congratulated all the participants and urged them to continue giving their best.

“It is not a mean feat that you made it this far. You have really worked so hard. We are offering you a great opportunity for self actualisation. We have seen the intellectualism and confidence being displayed here. Keep it up so that next year we will have something interesting. The Individual Maths contest was interesting,” she said.

Commenting on his victory, James Issa said he was extremely happy, despite losing narrowly to Yeko in the individual category.

“I feel extremely happy.  I still have to thank God that among the over one million students in Lagos State, I made it to the final,” he said.

Prizes were presented to winners of the various categories at the event.  In the Primary School category, Ifeoluwa Primary School, Agege beat Adeleye Memorial Primary School, Mushin.  Community Primary School, Ibeju-Lekki came third.  Government Junior College, Ketu, Epe, beat Eva Adelaja Junior Girls Model College, Bariga in the final to lift the trophy in the Junior Secondary category.  Atunrase Junior High School came third in that category.

Education Secretary, Agege Local Government Education Authority (ALGEA), Mr Olalekan Majiyagbe attributed the success of the primary category winners to proper preparation and motivation.

We engaged in serious preparation during the preliminary stages.  Previously, we won second and third positions but this time, we targeted the trophy.  We are the first LGEA to achieve this,” he said.