As someone that has followed Alex and his initiative since July, 2025 I have a few things to say.
1. There's a mix up. Alex asked if he should start a Maths Olympiad in SE and he was supported. He obviously couldn't do it alone and setup a GoFundMe link which a lot of people contributed. He wanted the reward money to be big—5 million naira so it'll be more fun.
2. When he started, he said his focus will solely be for SE, even though some asked for Some parts of Rivers and Delta to join, but that period was the peak of tribalism so he declined.
3. He stated earlier that it's the winners of SE Maths Olympiad which he presides over that will represent Nigeria for STEM Olympiad in Rome.
4. When the winners emerged, he still wanted them to compete in other academic activities so they'll be used to competition, that is why the winners competed in the National Maths Olympiad which was organized of which one of the winners in SE, Onwubiko Ebube took second and the Yoruba boy took first.
If Nigeria wasn't delisted from Maths Olympiad in China, the Yoruba boy could have competed and represented Nigeria in that global space and he, Alex said that individuals can't fund it, it's solely government.
He went on with his plans for the SE Maths Olympiad winners, because he has been preparing them from Day 1.
He didn't drop any kid, Nigeria government failed that boy and a lot of others.
The funds in ISEE couldn't foot the STEM Olympiad in Rome and Alex solely funded this children's trip.
I'm just glad that he's getting enough publicity because next year will be bigger and better.
If you read to this point and you have a child in primary or secondary, please go to Alex page and get them ready for the Sterling Bank Maths Quiz.
They're giving out ₦500k biweekly to the winner. It's open to all Nigerian Students and first phase has come and gone.
Thank you.
I compared the recent Physiology MB examination questions from both UNN and UniJos to see which one was harder.
What I found was actually surprising.
Both papers were for the same academic level and were written within the same session. They even had the same duration.
However, their philosophy of assessment was completely different.
The UNN Physiology paper had six questions, and students were required to answer five. In other words, there was one guaranteed drop built into the paper.
UniJos, on the other hand, set five questions, and all five were compulsory.
Now, looking deeper into the papers, the differences became even more obvious.
UNN examined eight different subtopics across eight different physiological systems.
There was:
- A question on insulin from Endocrine Physiology.
- A question on cardiac output from Cardiovascular Physiology.
- A question on acidification from Renal Physiology.
- A question on the reticular formation from Neurophysiology.
- A question on T-lymphocytes from Immunology.
- A question on gas diffusion from Respiratory Physiology.
- A question on secondary sexual characteristics from Reproductive Physiology.
- A question on bile duct disorders from Hepatobiliary Physiology.
It was broad.
Very broad.
The command words were things like:
- Discuss
- Describe
- Outline
- Briefly discuss
In other words, the paper mostly rewarded recall and explanation.
There was no clinical vignette.
No patient scenario.
Every question stood on its own.
Now compare that with UniJos.
UniJos wasn't nearly as broad.
Instead, it concentrated on fewer domains.
Renal Physiology appeared twice—once on tubular handling and again on the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS).
Endocrine Physiology appeared three different times across the paper.
The paper also opened with a complete trauma case containing Hb, Hct, RBC count, ECG, blood pressure, reflexes, and vision findings, followed by multiple sub-questions that depended on interpreting that single clinical scenario correctly.
Miss the case...
...and several marks disappear together.
So, from my own analysis, this is arguable, but I think UniJos was structurally harder.
Why?
Not because the content was necessarily more difficult.
But because it gave students no escape route.
Students had to know Renal Physiology and Endocrine Physiology in much greater depth.
The questions demanded clinical correlation.
They demanded application.
They demanded analysis.
UNN, on the other hand, was broader.
Students had to touch more systems, but each question was more isolated and much more forgiving.
Overall, I would describe the difference like this:
UNN rewarded recall and explanation.
UniJos rewarded recall, comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and application.
That was the biggest difference I noticed after comparing both papers.
Now I'm curious.
Which style do you think is actually harder?
A paper that covers almost every physiological system but mostly asks you to explain...
Or a paper that covers fewer systems but forces you to think clinically and leaves you with no question to drop?