11 years old Coker wins Mathsbee in Oyo

An 11-year-old Oluwamayomikunsi Coker has emerged the winner of the 2023 Mathsbee competition in Oyo State.

Coker clinched the N150,000 star prize at the Mathematics Competition organised by Mathsbee in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Speaking on how she emerged the winner of the yearly competition, Coker said she had cultivated the habit of solving mathematical problems every day.

Coker, a primary school pupil at the University of Ibadan Staff School, urged other pupils to put their trust in God and be diligent in working on their maths daily, so that they would come out in flying colours.

Also, Jesuseyanu Taiwo-Oladele, who came second in the competition, said he went the extra mile to get Mathematics textbooks and past questions which helped him.

“I borrowed the textbook I used for preparing for this competition,” he said.

Taiwo-Oladele, the 10-year-old primary six pupil of Louisville Nursery and Primary School, Ibadan said he got support from his mother who enrolled him in a lesson to prepare him for the competition.

“I am advising my fellow students that they should always not relent and not only study when there is an exam or competition but always as that is the secret to success,” he said.

Iyinoluwa Oguntoye, who claims the third position, said he dedicated the success to his parents and grandparents who invested in him.

He urged pupils to see mathematics as one of the easiest subjects and never to make mistakes.

In his address, Prof. Michael Olowookorun, the Chairman of the event, and first African Professor of Veterinary Physiology, said mathematics has been at the centre of every innovation.

He urged the participants not to see mathematics as difficult.

“You need to keep solving mathematical problems daily but first you must develop the interest as you all can make your mark in mathematics,” Olowookorun said.

Corroborating her husband, Mrs. Mary Olowookorun, a retired School Principal, enjoined the participants to be diligent, hard-working and focused to be successful in life.

“Mathematics is not as difficult as some people think.

“The best way to conquer the subject is to solve mathematics everyday,” she said.

According to the organiser of the event, Dr Seun Addie, 120 pupils started the Maths competition drawn from each local government area of the state with 60 pupils scaling through the first hurdle.

He said some of the pupils emerged in the top 10 at the second round of the competition and then the first three winners were selected after another keen competition.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured awards of excellence to teachers.