The gift of a Mathematics textbook

I have been privileged to receive many gifts, many of which I can't remember. Many of such gifts have an everlasting impact on my life.

Some gifts are bridge builders. They link one to his or her success. Imagine traveling from point A to point E, and you meet a river in-between A and B. Someone who gifted you his canoe to paddle across the river has his name written in gold whenever you are telling the story of your success, especially how you got to your desired destination.

There is a gift that a friend gave to me 19 years ago that I can likened to the analogy above.

I was a new student in my hometown in Kogi State, Nigeria. I had changed my school from another state. There was a tenant that rented our shop for business. The man was a cement supplier. Whenever he wasn't in the shop, his son, Muhammad, would be the one to stay in the shop. This happened mostly in the evening of weekdays or weekends.

While Muhammad was an SS 3 student, I was in SS 2, though we attended different schools. It took us a short time to become friends. Whenever I am at home without doing anything, I would go to Muhammad's shop to spend time with him. We would play games and have fun. It was through this means that we started discussing our academic pursuits. At that time, the subject in which I had a great weakness was mathematics. I had tried to improve on the subject, but no success was recorded.

Upon meeting Muhammad, I told him about my greatest fear and concern. I am a science student, and mathematics is the subject that I needed most. Upon relating my concern to him, he suggested a way forward for me.

"I have many textbooks in mathematics, and there is one that I will give you. Make sure you read it, study the solved problems, and attempt the exercises. If you are finding it difficult to understand any of the topics, we can check such a topic together."

Muhammad handed me an additional mathematics textbook. Additional Mathematics for West Africa, authored by Arthur Godman et al.

This was the gift that changed my learning experience in mathematics for the better. I started with the first topic as advised. I would study the explanations, examples, and attempt the exercises. Like a magic wand, I began to improve in mathematics.

A few weeks later, Muhammad wrote his senior secondary school certificate examination and left the town almost immediately. It took about five years later before I met Mohammad again. By that time, he was rounding up his first degree at the university while I just got admitted to the university. Mathematics had become my best subject courtesy of the impact of the textbook.

In the University Matriculation Examination (UME) that I wrote before being admitted to the university, my performance in mathematics was better than the other three subjects. I did not just find my way around understanding mathematics; I started teaching others. I had an easy sail in mathematics and other subjects in the university courtesy of the foundation I got from the book.

The impact of the book on my academic journey can't be overemphasized nor forgotten at anytime. It was like a canoe that helped me cross from point A to B in the world of mathematics.

The book is undoubtedly the most memorable gift that I received.