A socio-political pressure group in Bonny Kingdom christened “The G30 Ibani Voice”, has set N1.5 million as prize for  this year’s King and Queen of Mathematics Competition.
 The aim, according the President of the group, Dr Fubara Dan Jumbo, is to sustain its drive to grow interest in the subject of Mathematics within the kingdom.  
Dr Dan-Jumbo, who announced the prize at the weekend,  when he led some senior members of the group on a tour of Bonny, National Grammar School (BNGS) and Government Girls Secondary School, Finima (GGSSF), all in Bonny stressed the need to raise human resource and equip next generation.
According to him, there will be two categories, Category A, involving Senior Secondary Students to be host by BNGS; and Category B, involving Junior Secondary Students, to be hosted by GGSSF, all in Bonny Local Government Area. 
“We have chosen Bonny National Grammar School as the centre for category A in the King or Queen of Mathematics Competition 2021. We have Finima Girls as Category B’s centres. The schools will be listed that are in category A.
“Sometime in November we will have an examination. Three delegates from each of the schools will come and converge and will write these exams. We will pick two persons out of it. Those two persons will be qualified to contest in the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be more like an oral quiz.
“Then we will pick the champion of that category. Same thing we will do in category B. The star winner will be going home and smiling away with the whole sum of One Million Naira,” Dr Dan Jumbo stated.
The winner of Category B (King/Queen of Mathematics Junior) will go home with the sum of N500,000 while the winner of Category A, who will become the next King or Queen of Mathematics will go home with the sum of N1,000,000. He or she will reign for one year as the Brand Ambassador of the competition and also be part of various social impact initiatives by the G30 Ibani Voice.  
He stated that the competing schools include Bonny National Grammar School, Bonny; Government Girls Secondary School, Finima (GGSSF), Community Secondary School (CSS), Abalamabie; Community Secondary School, Burukiri; Ibitamuno Secondary School, Spring Foundation School, Kings and Queens Secondary School, Heritage Academy, Lucille Education Centre (LEC), Logos School, among others. 
He urged the students to go the extra mile to study and prepare for the competition, stressing that there will be no sentiments attached as the outcome of the competition will be based purely on merit, noting that the proof that they were desirous of winning is their pursuit of the prize money through diligent scholarship. 
“That is why I said it is the big one. Come November/ December we will know who will be the winner. It is not enough to have a desire. Someone said the proof of desire is in the pursuit. If you truly desire it you are going to pursue it.” 

By: Kevin Nengia