14-year-old Rivers Scholar Emerges Winner of National Maths Tournament

Agbo Adoga, a 14-year-old student of Graceland International School, Rivers, has emerged as the overall best student in the Maths4life National Tournament.

Adoga from Benue State and his pair Elvis Ekwelem of Imo won the N3 million cash prize at the 2025 competition, respectively, representing Nigeria in various international competitions over the last few years.

The initial round of the tournament was conducted virtually on Saturday, February 1, 2025, attracting over 3,000 students from all 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.

Speaking at the event, the President of Maths4Life Foundation, Omoniyi Osuntuyi, said the 10th anniversary of the foundation was about showing that mathematics is simple.

He noted that this year’s event was particularly special to celebrate the foundation’s one-decade-long commitment to mathematics education alongside the 2025 National Mathematics Tournament finals.

“We awarded cash prizes of N100,000 each to the top three students from six regions: South-West, South-South, South-East, North-West, North-East, and North Central, totalling 18 outstanding students. The eight schools that have qualified for today’s finals hail from Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Anambra, Rivers, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory,” said Osuntuyi.

He added, “We are excited to announce that the champion of this tournament received a cash prize of N3 million, while the first and second runners-up were awarded N2 million and N1 million respectively.”

For him, the past 10 years have been using mathematics as a tool to help students and giving back in terms of scholarships, tutoring and mentoring.

“Over 100 million has been given in the last decade to students, over 10,000 artisans have also been trained, then students who are having challenges in mathematics we also lecture them,” Osuntuyi explained. “We tutor them and give them the opportunity to know mathematics, though some people say it’s hard, but at the same time, we’re trying to bring it down to their level so that they can understand how to solve equations and give solutions to mathematical problems.”

Adoga, whose school emerged as the winner, has won over 14 awards. He said that considering his good background in mathematics, the competition was about speed and accuracy.

“I combined the preparation for competitions, so I’m already good at maths. I was just improving my speed and accuracy, so I was very fast today. I’ve won a lot of awards,” said Adoga. “Like two years ago, I won Cowbellpedia. I’ve also gone to the Netherlands. I have also won a gold medal worldwide.”

On the need for the government’s support in participating in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), Adoga said, “I feel like they can dedicate a part of the government’s money to competitions like IMO and Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO) so that students like me when we qualify for it we can actually go for it. It improves my general view of maths because it also gives me the opportunity to socialise with other people of like mind.”

Other winners include Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, first runner-up; Austica International College Anambra, second runner-up; while Bosdem College, Ogun, came fourth.