Team Nigeria has returned from the 2026 Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad held in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, with a total of three silver medals and one bronze.
The result represents the country’s strongest showing in the competition in the past 20 years, placing Nigeria among the leading performers at this year’s edition of Africa’s premier secondary school mathematics contest, which ran from 26 June to 4 July and featured participants from more than 25 countries.
Organised annually by the African Mathematical Union, the Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad is regarded as the continent’s equivalent of the International Mathematical Olympiad. The competition challenges students under the age of 20 to complete two four-and-a-half-hour written papers over two days, each containing three proof-based problems worth seven marks apiece, with a maximum achievable score of 42. Widely considered one of Africa’s toughest academic contests, this year’s outcome marks Nigeria’s most successful medal tally in two decades.
Nigeria fielded six students at PAMO 2026, five of whom were trained under the Special Maths Academy, an institution known for running intensive Olympiad preparation camps across the country. The team collectively secured three silver medals and one bronze, but beyond the medal count, the result has been described as historically significant for Nigerian participation in the competition.
A major highlight of the performance was a breakthrough moment for female representation. For the first time in Nigeria’s history at PAMO, a female student reached the silver medal category. That milestone was not achieved by one student alone, as two Nigerian girls simultaneously earned silver medals at the same edition, a first-of-its-kind achievement for the country in the competition.
Reacting to the development, Special Maths Academy stated: “This has never happened before. In the entire history of Nigeria’s participation in this competition, no Nigerian girl had ever reached the Silver podium. Today, two of them did it at the exact same time. This isn’t just a win for the trophy cabinet; it completely changes the game for every young girl across Nigeria who loves maths but wonders if she belongs at the top. It turns out she does.”
