With the best 108 of maths brain set for the television quiz stage of the Cowbellpedia maths competition, some parents have sought spiritual help for their wards’ success.
While teachers played the roles of counsellor and supporter, some parents were seen at the studio where the Cowbellpedia quiz competition was being recorded, praying for their wards, too tensed to concentrate while awaiting their turns.
The prayer may have been necessitated by the brilliance exhibited by the pupils on set. For instance, a contestant in the junior category, Oluwatunmise Idowu, of Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State wowed everybody by answering 17 questions correctly in the 60 Seconds of fame round.
With the feat, she beat the record of 15 questions set by the 2015 Cowbellpedia champion, Ayodeji Akinkuowo.
One of the parents providing spiritual support for her ward was Mrs. Josephine Okeke, whose son, Favour, was one of the five representing Loyola Jesuit College, Gidan-Mangoro, Abuja.
She spent most of her time entreating God to reward her son’s efforts.
Okeke contested against Ayomide Ajayi of Bibo Oluwa Academy Ilesa, Osun State; Emmanuel Igban of Ambassador College, Ota, Ogun State; Isikanye Praise of Federal Government Academy, Suleja, Niger State; Ugozuchuwu Offor of University of Nigeria Secondary School, Enugu Campus; and Divine Uzagu of Federal Government College, Okposi, Abia State in the preliminary stage of the quiz.
Mrs. Okeke, a pharmacist, who ‘dumped’ her career to support her children, said the prayers were necessary as effort is not enough.
“The race is not for the swif, but for God who shows mercy and God says: ‘I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.’ I believe God for my son. I am standing in the gap for him. God cannot fail, so, my son can never fail,” she said.
Another intercessor was Mrs Patience Okoh, who stood in the gap for her niece, Angelica Uzo, also of Loyola Jesuit College.
“I am the mother here in Lagos, my sister called me up from Abuja yesterday that I should be here to monitor her. What it means is that I must do everything within my power to make her succeed and the best I can do is to pray. This I have been doing,” she remarked.
Redemption Adebayo, a pupil of Model Secondary School, Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State, said her father called her daily to pray that she makes it to the finals.
“The whole family is praying for me, and we did a lot of prayers to seek God’s favour from the beginning of this competition,” she said.
With one million up for grabs for each of the winners (and N400,000 for their teachers) in the junior and senior categories of the competition, as well as an all-expenses paid educational excursion outside the country, the prayers are in order. However, the finals would tell whose prayers God would answer.
Last year, Akinkuowo of Adeyemi Demonstration Secondary School, Ondo State, won the senior category, while Munachi Ernest-Eze of Loyola Jesuit won the junior category.
They got N750,000 each, while their teachers got N250,000. The schools also got five computers and printers.
