Nigerian Professor Solves A 156-Year-Old Math Problem
A lecturer at the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti state, Nigeria has solved a 156-year-old math problem. Dr. Opeyemi Enoch is on his way to claim a $1million (£658,000) prize if he is declared the first person to solve the Riemann Hypothesis.
The math puzzle was first proposed by mathematician Bernard Riemann in 1859 and involves the distribution of prime numbers.
According to Dr. Opeyemi, his students motivated him to solve the math problem. They had wanted him to make money via internet and now he his life is about to change for the better.
'The motivation was because my students trusted that the solution could come from me - not because the financial reward and that was why I started trying to solve the problem in the first place,' he told BBC.
The Riemann Hypothesis was one of the seven Millennium Problems in Mathematics set by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000.
On November 11, the lecturer presented his proof at International Conference on Mathematics and Computer Science in Vienna.
The Academy stated that Prof. Enoch 'went on to consider and to correct the misconceptions that were communicated by mathematicians in the past generations, thus paving way for his solutions and proofs to be established.
'He also showed how other problems of this kind can be formulated and obtained the matrix that Hilbert and Poly predicted will give these undiscovered solutions.
'He revealed how these solutions are applicable in cryptography, quantum information science and in quantum computers.'
While many are celebrating the Professor's big win, some are mocking him and still in doubt, "saying what has that got to do with putting food on the tables of Nigerians.
'If this man can solve the Riemann problem...why should he not be able to provide solutions to Nigeria's problems?" Dr Enoch told BBC.
Haters don't just quit right? no matter how good you are, people will still criticize you. If there is no food on your table, that is your own problem. Just because he solve one of the hardest math puzzles, does not make him your President.
Dr Opeyemi Enoch
Dr Enoch who is also an inventor, has invented a prototype silo for local farmers and is currently working on how to protect oil pipelines from vandalism as well as mathematical approaches to climate change. Wow! Congratulations to him!