By Anthony Ochela, Abuja
Delta Democrats Forum, DDF, has expressed strong reservation over the reported refusal of the Federal Ministry of Education to sponsor Agbo Adoga, a 15-year-old academic prodigy, to represent Nigeria at the International Mathematics Olympiad, IMO, in China.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by Convener of the Forum, Comrade Ufuoma Atare.
In a statement made available to AljazirahNigeria, Atare opined that “Agbo Adoga, a student of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, recently made history as the first Nigerian to score a perfect 1600 in the SAT examination.
“He also won 84 national and international awards in Mathematics, Coding and other STEM fields—an extraordinary achievement that brings pride and global recognition to Nigeria”, the statement noted.
Atare noted that it is unacceptable that the Ministry of Education would cite lack of funds as an excuse to abandon such a gifted child.
“This reflects a disturbing failure of leadership and priorities, especially in a country where public funds are frequently available for non-essential expenditure, yet unavailable for nurturing excellence and innovation.
“In nations that value education, talents like Adoga are treated as national assets. In Nigeria, however, brilliance is ignored while mediocrity is tolerated. This sends a damaging message to millions of young Nigerians that hard work and excellence do not matter.
“Delta Democrats Forum views this neglect as a betrayal of the future of education and a clear indication of incompetence within the ministry. Education is not a favor; it is a strategic investment critical to national development”, it read.
The Forum called for the immediate resignation of the minister of education for failing to uphold the fundamental responsibility of promoting and supporting academic excellence.
Nigeria, the Forum said, must decide whether it wants to build its future or continue to undermine it.
