Joseph and Felicia Owoeye, parents of Daniella, top scorer of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), say they are not surprised at her achievement, describing her study habits as extremely intense and disciplined.
On Monday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced the 16-year-old from Ekiti state as the highest-scoring candidate with 372 out of 400 marks.
Speaking in Abuja at the 2026 admission policy meeting, JAMB registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, said the candidate wrote the examination in Ogun state and chose the University of Lagos (UNILAG) as her first choice to study medicine and surgery.
In an interview with TheCable, the teenager attributed her success to strong parental support and early self-discovery, which shaped her academic focus.
Joseph, Daniella’s father works at the Covenant University library as an administrator, while Felicia, his wife, holds a PhD in industrial chemistry from Leed City University.
In a separate interview with TheCable, the parents revealed how they guided their daughter to score 98 out of 100 mark each in both English and Chemistry in the examination.
They described Daniella’s study routine as “very strange”, noting that they often had to plead with her to reduce her reading intensity.
“She would read almost endlessly. We would leave her at the reading table at night and still meet her there the next morning. At a point, I told her, ‘Please take it easy. Your reading is too much,” the mother said.
“I assisted Daniella during her preparation in science. My husband is not into science, but he is good at english. Anything english, she goes to daddy. Anything maths, chemistry or physics, it is mummy.
“I could spend two hours on chemistry with her and still reduce time on other things. For english, she would go to her father. But I think it is all God. Without Him, we are nothing.”
Felicia said her daughter’s discipline was reinforced by a structured home environment and strong personal drive.
“When I was in secondary school, my best subjects were nathematics and chemistry. That passion passed on to them. She is expressive and very focused,” Felicia said.
She said in addition to the intense preparations, they also supported the teenager with prayers and supply of needed educational materials.
“We kept praying for her and committing everything into the hands of God. I believe God answered our prayers,” she said.
‘SHE STUDIED ALMOST 24/7’
Corroborating this, Daniella’s father said her success was rooted in early self-awareness and determination.
“I would say a major reason is that God helped her to discover herself early in life,” he said.
“Before she was 10, she had already declared what she wanted to become. I believe self-discovery helped her the most.”
Joseph also highlighted the role of adequate preparations, noting that his daughter studied “almost 24/7”
“She studied almost 24/7. Most times, we would sleep before her, but she would still wake up before us. The way she studied was strange to me,” he said.
“At a point, I told her, ‘Daniella, God is not mad. You are doing your part. I’m sure God will not deny you His own part.”
The librarian said he wasn’t surprised at his daughter’s success, because “she took reading to another level in her study room”.
“We kept praying for her. And we committed everything into the hands of God. God crowned her effort,” Joseph said.
The couple urged parents to prioritise discipline, moral upbringing, and spiritual grounding.
“Allow your children to know God. Be disciplined and morally upright. Children imitate what they see,” the mother said.
“It is not great institutions that make great minds. It is great decisions.”
“My own contribution is that it is not great institutions that make great minds, but great decisions” the father said.
“As parents, we should not put our children under pressure. I’m not saying those who can afford schools with big names should not put their children there.
“But what I’m saying is that if we put our children where we can afford, based on our income, and we follow it up, I’m too sure we will get results.”)
“Daniella was not privileged to go to one of those big institutions with big names in Nigeria. But God helped her, and with the little we could do, she got her path in life.”
