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•2 OBMS whiz kids share experiences in preparations for UTME, WASSCE
By Gabriel Dike
Two students of Oritamefa Baptist Model School (OBMS), Ibadan, Oyo State, Mustapha Uthman and Mercy Adeolu Okunlola, recorded impressive results in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the May/June 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Both obtained 9A1s, while Uthman scored 366 in the UTME and Okunlola got 353.
The whiz kids spoke told Daily Sun the secrets of their succes and the courses they intend to study in the university.
First, Uthman. He is 16 and hails from Egbado South Local Government, Ogun State. His father, Olamide is late. His mother, Rukayat, is a civil servant.
Primary and secondary education
He attended Living Spring International School, Akingbade for his nursery and primary school education. He attended Oritamefa Baptist Model School for his secondary school education.
Previous awards
Laurels won by Uthman included; 9A1’s in 2024 Nov/Dec WASSCE (private candidates), 366 in 2025 UTME. Top 50 of about 1.9million candidates (41st position). First position in Top Charity Foundation Science Competition, June, 2025,. First position in Vitazobo Vitachamp Science and Mathematics competition held March 14th, 2025. First position (team of two) in Oyo State in Sigma Roseline Etuokwu National Science competition, January 18th, 2025, Second position (team of two) in Southwest in Sigma Roseline Etuokwu National Science competition, March 1st 2025.
Others: Third position (team of three) in University of Ibadan Physiotherapy competition, March 2025. Third position in the local government stage of MAN Mathematics competition 2024 and second position in the zonal stage of MAN Mathematics competition, 2024
Exams preparation
According to him: “Generally, I have been preparing for external exams since I entered senior secondary school. With prior experience from taking the WASSCE for private candidates in Nov/Dec 2024, and my school mock exam.
“I had a solid foundation to stand on for the May/June 2025 WASSCE and the UTME 2025 exam. There was not much left for me to cover in preparation for the school exam. My preparation for all external exams intensified around early August 2024 making it roughly nine months of preparation.”
Success secret
“I reviewed a few years of past questions till I got a good grasp of the structure of the exam. I usually focused on the theory and practical aspects first. Then, I review relevant topics based on my observation; sought help; in addition, I did not hesitate to seek help from my teachers when needed; setting clear goals and months before the exam, I wrote out the grade I planned to achieve in each subject and pasted it at a spot where I saw it everyday to act as a constant reminder of my goals.
“This helped me stay focused and motivated me throughout my preparatory period and countdown calendar. I also had a calendar where I marked off the days to the exam one by one. This particularly helped in time management. All these and more helped me stay focused and motivated while preparing.”
How I prepared for UTME
“Specifically, I ensured to use CBT practice apps like Testdriller.”
Target grade for WAEC and UTME
“My goal for the 2025 WASSCE was 9 A1s while for the 2025 UTME, set 365 as a minimum target.”
WASSCE result
“I checked the result on the WAEC portal on my own. My elder brother was at home with me and was the first person I told.”
Why Engineering course
Uthman chose to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ibadan:”I chose mechanical engineering for its diverse and versatile nature, and my passion for it. Mechanical engineering simply deals with the design and manufacture of machines and devices. There’s the saying ‘if it moves it’s mechanical’, this reflects the broad nature of the field. I chose University of Ibadan because of its prestige. I researching schools outside the country though.”
Favorite teacher
His best teacher is Mr. Yejide Oluwasola. He teaches Mathematics. I had 98 in Mathematics in UTME and A1 in my WASSCE.
Reaction of school
Uthman said for the UTME, the school erected a large signboard for the 79 students with 300+. They also placed it at multiple locations around the school compound. There is also a commendation service where the best students in WASSCE, UTME and the school mock exam are rewarded with cash, scholarships etc.
Nickname by uncle
“I would say he likened me to Albert Einstein because of my knack for understanding complex concepts. It’s a huge compliment and I’m humbled to be compared to such an iconic figure.”
Best in school’s history
In the UTME, Uthman recorded the second best result in the school’s history. The best result being 372 achieved by Omigie Cecil this same year.
As for the school exam, he joined the long list of students who achieved 9A1’s in WASSCE and/or other equivalents.
Okunlola’s success story
Okunlola, 15, is from Eruwa, Ibarapa East Local Government, Oyo State. His mother, Adekemi, Okunlola, is a secondary school teacher. The father, Samson, a Mechanical Engineer in a power generating plant.
He attended Perfect Wisdom Nursery and Primary School, Aduloju, Ibadan. He was the Assistant Head Boy in the primary school and graduated on July 2019 as the second overall best pupil.
At Oritamefa Baptist Model School, Total Garden, Ibadan, he was the Head Boy. He graduated on August 7, 2025 as the overall best student.
On March 5, 2025 he represented his school in a secondary school quiz competition organized by the Association of Physiotherapy Students, University of Ibadan and he came third position. Also, on March 14, 2025, he came third position in VitabChamp 2025 Science competition, an Annual Science and Mathematics competition.
Preparation for UTME
His words: “I am really grateful to God and my parents for making it possible for me to have my secondary education in Oritamefa Baptist Model School. Right from JSS 3, I saw the high scores of my seniors in their UTME and I aspired to score very high when it was my turn to write the UTME.
From SSS 1, I studied my notes, textbooks and few past questions. When I got to SSS 3, I intensified preparations. My school organized evening classes every week from Monday to Thursday between 4:15 and 5:45. The classes really helped me to improve my strength and work on my weaknesses.
“The explanations of my teachers were lucid and the classes were really helpful. I also joined an online Tutorial Explicit Online Tutorials. I joined the tutorial when the date for my UTME was drawing near and they were just doing revisions and mocks at that time. The intense revision and daily mocks really helped me to work on my speed, learn new things and recall what I had read before.
“I practiced a lot of past questions; I also made use of TestDriller App. The owners of the TestDriller App organized weekly UTME Challenges where hundreds of JAMBites write a standard UTME mock and the top 20 participants are rewarded with airtime ranging fromN100 to N2,000. The weekly challenges really helped me in studying for UTME and my mistakes and trying to become better.
“I wrote the Nov/Dec GCE exams in 2024 and in the course of preparing for the exam. I was able to cover about 85 per cent of the syllabus. So when I was preparing for UTME, I had only little left to read and most of the time was spent on revision and studying a lot of past questions. I really love the JAMB Remix by Samuel O. Adedara.
“The past questions there are arranged topic by topic, so you can easily track your progress. Also, most of the answers are correct and the explanations are clear. I also made use of ‘The Invisible Teacher’ by Dele Ashade in preparing for my UTME Use of English. I remember watching an interview of the highest UTME scorer in 2023 that had a score of 360 Nkechinyere Umeh. She said she used to study for six (6) hours everyday. I also tried to study for six hours everyday. “On average, I can say I was able to study for about five hours on days that I did not go to school. There were indeed some days I studied for more than six hours. I was expecting a very high score in my 2025 UTME. I was expecting 350+ and I thank God I was able to make 353: 98 in Physics, 98 in Chemistry, 81 in Biology and 76 in Use of English.”
Okunlola always wanted to be the best WASSCE candidate since SSS 1 and heard about David Babalola, the best WAEC candidate in 2015, from in his school Oritamefa Baptist Model School. He also heard about Isabelle Gelegu and Toni Adekunle, the best female and male candidates respectively in the 2017 May/June WASSCE, also from his school. He was inspired by their achievements and wanted to do even better.
“So right from SSS 1, I read my notes, textbooks and practiced few WASSCE questions. When I got to SSS 2, Mrs. Tewogbade Adekunle, who is now the Principal of Oritamefa Baptist Model School, Akobo, Ibadan, motivated me to do even better than her son, Toni Adekunle, in my WASSCE exams. I worked harder in SSS 2. I wrote the Nov/Dec GCE in 2024, I was able to cover much ground during my preparation for the exam and it greatly eased my preparation for my May/June WASSCE in 2025.
“My school organized early morning classes from 7 to 8 everyday for all SSS 3 students. The classes really aided my preparation for my WASSCE. I analysed the WASSCE past questions to know the most frequently asked topics so that I can read them first. I also studied a lot of past questions and read my notes and textbooks for the exam. I prayed hard and fasted for the exam. I took English specially because I got B2 in English in my GCE and I did not want a repeat of that in my WASSCE. I studied ‘Fundamental formulas of the English Language’ by Barrister Oscar IzeyorIyoha in preparation for my English Language exam.
“Few times, I revised with my friends Mustapha, Cecil, Oluwadarasimi, Oluwajoba and many others and we reminded ourselves of our goals and important things we needed to know for each subject. We had many classes in school where our teachers prayed for us, explained new topics, revised the topics we already knew and solved past questions with us.
“I was dedicated, studying at least five hours every day (apart from days I went to school), trying to leave no stone unturned, determined not to compromise or cheat in any way but to give my very best because I only get to write the exam once. My joint preparation for school exams, continuous assessments, impromptu tests, competitions, My Nov/Dec GCE, my UTME and my school mock really aided my preparation for my WASSCE.”
Okunlola wants to study Medicine and Surgery in the University of Ibadan. He read ‘Gifted Hands’ written by Dr. Ben Carson and the book inspired him to want to become a medical doctor. After reading the book, he felt like there is a place for him in the medical line, there are problems waiting to be solved and there are discoveries yet unknown, waiting to be discovered.
He said: “I am 15 underaged so JAMB sent my results directly to me before they released everybody’s results. When I saw the results, I was really glad with what I scored and I am really grateful to God for my UTME score. I checked my WASSCE result the day the May/June 2025 WASSCE results were initially released.
“I initially had a B2 in English and A1 in all the other subjects. I was not happy because I knew that I wrote my English exam very well. I prepared hard for the exam, learnt a lot of new words and their meanings, improved on my essays, improved on my summary, improved on my comprehension, I tried to perfect my orals and I studied hard for the Lexis and Structure section.
“Even after writing the exam, I was sure of an A1 and I knew within myself that I had written the exam very well. But after some time, WAEC said that they had system glitches and they corrected everyone’s results. After they corrected everyone’s results, I checked my result again and I loved what my eyes saw 9 A1’s in all my subjects including English Language.
“My best subjects are Biology and Chemistry. In my UTME, I got 81 in Biology and 98 in Chemistry. In my WASSCE, I made A1 in both Biology and Chemistry.
“In my Nov/Dec 2024 GCE, l obtained 8 A1’s and 1 B2. He made A1 in Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Technical Drawing, Further Mathematics, Economics and Yoruba. I recorded B2 in English Language. I was glad about my performance but I knew I could do better. So I studied harder for my WASSCE and God crowned my efforts.”
Lawal Olaitan Ibironke in 2010 WASSCE achieved the school breakthrough in WAEC National Distinction/Merit awards when he was recognised under the merit award. But OMBS best came in 2015 school exam, when Babalola David emerged best overall in Nigeria with 9A1s and also went home with the Omo N’Oba Erediuawa Coronation trophy as the best male candidate in WASSCE.
Another student, Irabor Isabelle Gelegu, obtained 9A1s in the 2017 WASSCE and also secured the Omo N’Oba Erediuawa Coronation trophy.
