EVERYTHING IS MATHEMATICS:

Abstract

PREAMBLE “He (God) raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory...” I Samuel 2:8a My Acting. Vice-Chancellor sir, I am delighted and honoured for the privilege given to me to deliver the 116th lecture in the series of inaugural lectures of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Who could have imagined that I would one day stand before this distinguished audience to deliver an inaugural lecture as a professor of mathematics, due to my academic background? My parents were not educated, but loved education. It might interest you to know that in my first West African School Certificate Examination (WASC) in 1977, I got an F9 in mathematics. Despite my excellent performance and much fascination with the subject throughout primary school till final year in secondary school, the result of “expo 77” WASC examination may have revealed my weakness(es). However, I was determined not to let this initial failure derail my dreams of going to the university and becoming a mathematician but I took responsibility for my failure and didn't blame any teacher. A few years later, during my teaching practice in 1981, I returned to St. John Bosco Grammar School, Ubiaja, the school where I failed mathematics in my first WASC examination attempt, to teach the very subject I once failed. Also in 1982, I taught mathematics to the first set of students of Ewatto Grammer School, my students in both institutions performed excellently well in their final examination. Some of them are professors today as a testimony of what God could do in the life of a man who gives his/her life to Christ. In, my first seminar presentation during my Ph.D programme in 2000/2001, my supervisor remarked that I may not be able to make significant contribution in my chosen area of research (Numerical Analysis). I did not allow his assertion deter me. After submitting my first manuscript from my Ph.D work for publication, my supervisor (Prof. F.O. Otunta) of blessed memory, called me one night to say, and I quote “Cletus, this is good; your work has been published in a very reputable journal. You are doing very well!”. After my final oral defence, I published 12 different articles from my Ph.D research, in prominent journals, including the Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computation (Elsevier), which continues to be ranked among the top journals in computational mathematics globally. Today, I stand as the 4th inaugural lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, and 116th in the history of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. My career has been dedicated to teaching and research in mathematics with special reference to Numerical Analysis and Computational Mathematics. My Acting Vice Chancellor sir, having taught mathematics from primary school through to the university level, this lecture therefore provides a profound opportunity for me, as a professor, to share my teaching, research experiences and new insights with both the university community and the general public. Thus, the choice of my lecture title “Everything is Mathematics: Numerical Tools, My Language.”