Going by your very intimidating resume, one can assume that you are fulfilled.
I am very fulfilled because I am using all the talents and gifts God has given me. Although, I did not plan to be outstanding, I was determined in using my talents maximally. I was taught by a missionary school that helped me to discover my talents.
You embarked on your PhD degree in 1973 at the University of London and you were awarded the degree at age of 25. How did you cope over there considering the racist atmosphere?
When I embarked on the programme, the American professor who interviewed me happened to be the son of a missionary in Igbo land. As a young boy he lived in Nigeria. It was easy for him to accept me. He was not embarrassed that I was a Nigerian. He was happy to see a Nigerian again.
How do you feel with the increasing rate of students who fail Mathematics in general certificate examinations?
The government is not getting its priorities right. There was a pan-African congress of Mathematics conference in 2013 in Abuja. I went to the room where the Mathematics teachers were holding their own parallel session. They were displaying a method brought by Japan for teaching Mathematics. I told them that the method was not new. It was what I was taught with when I was young. Where did we miss it as a country that we now have to call people from Japan to teach us what we already know? What happened? How did they show the exit door to all the committed teachers so that an agric graduate is now teaching Mathematics?
When I was young, Mathematics and science teachers were paid a little extra above other teachers. Today, that is no longer the case. If there is a minimum wage, we should have a maximum wage which should not be more than N1.8 million.
When I was in Queen’s College, teachers were so dedicated that students didn’t have to struggle very hard before passing their exams. There are many challenges besetting the country; many parents cannot afford their children’s school fees.
What is the relationship between Mathematics and national development?
I used a diagram in my inaugural lecture; the diagram represented the countries that are topping the list of best mathematicians in the world. These countries are the most developed countries in the world and it is because they apply Mathematics in solving their problems. Mathematics is applicable to all areas of life. Developed economies today study and apply Mathematics. But in Nigeria, Mathematics as a subject is handled nonchalantly. Mathematics is all around us; it is the language of the world and we should utilise Mathematics to develop our nation. We were once in a hurry to develop our country
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