A participant in the ongoing 2018 Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics Television Quiz Show, sponsored by Cowbell Milk, Master Israel Adegboyega has attributed his relentless preparation and long hours of practice in achieving excellent results in Mathematics competition.
Adegboyega who is a student of Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State explained that success in Mathematics demands preparation and determination in order to overcome the initial fear that scare a lot of students.
“The magic is that students who are not very good in Mathematics should try and practice it more often in order to improve. For instance, ahead of this competition, I practised Mathematics for about 10 hours daily,” he said.
He advised his fellow students to ignore the perception of Mathematics being challenging, adding that the subject nurtures the individual’s power of reasoning, creativity, abstract or spatial thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving ability, as well as effective communication skills.
In the senior category preliminary group B contest held recently, Adegboyega and Praise Isinkaye of Federal Government Academy Suleja, Niger State, qualified for the semi-finals after squaring up against Olufunmbi Fakorede of Bibo Oluwa Academy, Ilesha, Osun State and Vincent Ezeanyagu of Baptist High School, Naraguta-Jos, Plateau State.
Other contestants at the preliminary stage included Oluwagbemiga Adegbamiye of Reality High School, Ilesha, Osun State, and Haruna Hassan Kabaju of Nigerian Tulip International College for Boys, Damaturu, Yobe State.
A first timer in the competition, Adegboyega who is confident of his chances told journalist that, “My expectation is to be the champion. Cowbellpedia remains my ultimate dream.”
Isinkaye who could not make it beyond the preliminary round, two years ago, hopes to qualify for the finals and win the ultimate prize this time around.
“I feel cool scaling this hurdle. I really thank God, but my ultimate ambition is to be the 2018 Cowbellpedia champion,” she said.
In the junior category, Benny Sampson-Uche of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Jefferson Ejaife of DSC Aladja, Delta State, pulled through to the semi-finals.
Sampson-Uche, 13, who had 145 points in the second round is described as ‘small but mighty’, believes he has all it takes to emerge the 2018 champion and make his school and state proud following the footsteps of his school mate, Jessey Uche-Nwichi, the 2017 junior champion.
Ejaife also amassed 120 points to win in the second round. He is looking forward to going all the way to the final and wearing the crown.
“I feel very happy to scale the hurdle, especially being my first time of participating in the competition. I hope to get to the final. I have done a lot of prayers and practice,” he said.
The 2018 edition is significant as it marks the 20th anniversary of Cowbell and Mathematics. Prizes have also been doubled in the spirit of the celebration.
The winner of each category will receive N2 million with an all-expense paid educational excursion outside the country, while the first and second runners-up will receive N1.5 million and N1 million respectively.
The teachers of the top prize winners will be go home with N500,000, while those of the first and second runners-up will receive N400,000 and N300,000, respectively.
The winning schools will also be rewarded with Mathematics textbooks, desktop computers and printers.
