By Sar Terver
It was meant to lighten the load, a goodwill gesture toward students of the Arts and Humanities. But when word circulated that federal authorities were considering removing Mathematics as a core admission requirement for non-science Curriculum in schools.
A powerful set of critics, led by the Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS), sounded one of the loudest alarms in recent educational debates. As the dust settles, the movement seems to have fizzled. And many are asking: Has Nigeria lost more than just a subject?
At a press briefing in Makurdi on October 31, 2025, the NMS, led by its president, Prof. Godwin Christopher Mbah, laid out a compelling case: Mathematics, he argued, is not only the language of numbers but the language of reasoning.
Without it, he said, the very foundation of critical thinking in Nigerian Universities would weaken.
For the NMS, the issue was far bigger than algebra or geometry it was about intellectual discipline, analytical depth, and maintaining a baseline of quantitative reasoning across all fields, including the humanities. Students might “escape the pressure,” the group warned, but at what long-term cost?
The mood among supporters was equally passionate. A media consultant and church leader, Apostle Dr. Mtswenem Tor David, described Mathematics as a life tool embedded in everyday decision-making, from budgeting groceries to measuring ingredients in the kitchen.
A senior broadcaster with Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Mrs. Grace Ichekpa, reinforced that view, calling Mathematics an unavoidable part of daily living.
“Mathematics, even right from birth, has been there. Without going to the four walls of the classroom, we need mathematics. If you don’t have the informal knowledge of mathematics, you cannot plan our homes.
“If you don’t know the number of people in your house, as a woman or even as a man, drawing a budget to succeed in your family is the first mathematics.
“So, when I heard about this policy, I was taken aback! Where is it coming from? Even our daily cooking — if I go to the kitchen, I calculate the number of seasonings I will use, the number of spices I will use, the quantity of salt I will use, and so on. All these things are mathematics.
“Whether we like it or not, mathematics is part of us. I used to run away from mathematics, but later on I developed a likeness for it. I discovered it was even easier than English Language, and I started learning mathematics, and up till today, I’m still learning mathematics,” Ichekpa said.
Another veteran Journalist, Mr. Tamenor Kwaghzer, also lent his support to the advocacy:
“I did not pass out from secondary school with the experience of Senior Secondary School. I completed Form 5, and before you learnt Form 3, you must pass mathematics. I’m not a mathematician, but at least that has given me a foundation.”
Others recalled how earlier education reforms had scrapped other core subjects, such as History, leaving generations allegedly impoverished in cultural knowledge and civic awareness.
Despite the fervor, however, the push appears to have petered out, not with a bang, but with silence.
Benue State Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Dr. Margaret Adamu, clarified that the proposed relaxation was not a general policy, but one specifically targeted at physically challenged applicants seeking non-science degrees.
“When they get a flimsy thing, they magnify it but they don’t know the details of it. They say Mathematics should not be considered as an admission requirement for the physically challenged, but not in sciences.
“If it is in sciences, whether you are physically challenged, whether you are blind, whether you cannot hear, Mathematics is the requirement.
“But for somebody who wants to go and do Theatre Arts, a physically challenged person, would they say you must have Mathematics to do that?
“So, for the point of correction, it is for the physically challenged and it is for subjects that are not science-oriented or technologically based. So in that case, Maths is not a stringent requirement.
“Somebody who wants to go and read Law should not sit down and say they will not require Mathematics. It is for those that are physically challenged and for subjects that are not science or technologically based. So Mathematics is a strong requirement,” she explained.
The commissioner’s insistence that “Mathematics remains a strong requirement” in all other circumstances seemed to undercut the NMS’s fears.
When this reporter returned to the NMS President for a reaction to Dr. Adamu’s clarification, he offered no further comment, a silence many observers found telling. There was no renewed press release and no response to this reporter’s inquiry.
No fresh mobilization emerged from the academic community. The social-media outcry that usually follows such policy debates never surfaced. It was as though the fight had simply been called off once the issue was reframed as a narrow exemption.
That abrupt halt has left a bitter aftertaste among several stakeholders, especially students and academics who had rallied behind the NMS.
“Some feel the lapse reflects a deeper apathy — a growing willingness among institutions and officials to avoid confrontation even when the stakes are high.
Others worry that the lack of closure leaves the door open for future policy shifts without adequate public scrutiny.
After all, a change once dismissed as being “for physically challenged non-science applicants only” could easily morph into something broader if no one is paying attention.
In many ways, the episode exposed a worrying reality: when important national debates begin in earnest, they too often die not with decisive policy but with distraction, confusion, and ultimately, silence.
The question now is: Has Nigeria truly safeguarded its academic standards, or has it lost an opportunity to draw a clear line in the sand?
For advocates of rigorous education, the quiet disappearance of this debate feels uncomfortably like defeat.
