"Nigeria's capacity to protect its digital economy depends on its willingness to invest in mathematics at every level," an Obafemi Awolowo University Professor argued during a public lecture at the University of Lagos.
Prof. Temitope Jaiyeola, who holds the Pastor Enoch Adeboye Professorial Chair in Mathematics at UNILAG, delivered the 3rd Chair Occupier's Public Lecture on the theme "Algebraic Structures and Their Applications to Cryptography and Complex Systems." His remarks covered topics ranging from national cybersecurity to the treatment of mathematics students in Nigerian universities.
On the question of digital security, he was direct. "Nigeria's digital economy needs home grown security solutions. The theoretical foundations laid in our work on quasigroup based cryptography should be advanced towards prototype development. Partnerships with industry and cybersecurity agencies should be sought to test and adapt these mathematical models," he said.
He also pointed to a gap in how Nigeria supports its emerging mathematics community, calling for deliberate intervention. "I recommend targeted support for postgraduate students and early career lecturers to attend and present at such high calibre forums, building Nigeria's visibility in specialised mathematics," he said.
Prof. Jaiyeola described mathematics as a subject too often misunderstood by those who encounter it only as a set of calculations. "Beyond its service to the natural sciences, mathematics is first and foremost a way of thinking, a disciplined art of reasoning, abstraction, and logical creativity," he said. He further proposed that the endowed chair drive an annual outreach programme to ignite interest in mathematics among primary and secondary school pupils, starting within the UNILAG community.
Chairman of the Governing Council of Redeemer's University, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who presided over the event, took a pointed stance on recent policy discussions around the subject. "I laughed when, recently, it was declared that mathematics is not a compulsory subject today. Because everything we do now is about mathematics," he said.
Pastor Kayode Pitan, representing donor Pastor Enoch Adeboye, called on other Nigerians with the means to do so to make similar investments in education. "We want to encourage other people, also, those who are blessed by God, to look at such beautiful things. We want you to invest in the next generation of us," he said.
With cybersecurity threats rising across the continent and Nigeria's digital sector expanding rapidly, the argument for treating mathematics as a matter of national strategy rather than academic routine appears to be gaining ground.
