Six-year-old N.S. genius becomes Mensa Canada member

CTV News

28-05-2025

There's a young genius taking the world by storm in his hometown of Bedford, N.S.
Elijah 'Kodjo' Motey may only be six years old, but he's already thinking far beyond his years.
'He rolled over from tummy to back really early, like before four weeks. And I remember looking and thinking, 'Well, that's interesting because kids don't typically roll over that early,'' says his mother Mercy Mutale Motey.
Little did his parents know it would be just one out of a long list of things Elijah would do so early.
'Between 10 and 12 months…he was walking and so he's just always been reaching these milestones very early. Before he was around a year old, he had a fascination with numbers. He loved numbers. He was counting all of the time,' says his mother. 'He actually had more numbers than words at that point.'
From there, Elijah's parents started thinking of ways to harness his talents.In November 2024, Elijah was accepted into Mensa Canada at the age of five.
'It's only the top two per cent of the population, so you would have to have 98 percentile to belong to Mensa,' says Millie Norry, Mensa Canada's vice president of membership.
Elijah was too young for Mensa to test him, so his parents arranged a private test and his results were stunning.
'His scores were found to be in the top one per cent of the population for his age,' says his mother.
It made Elijah one of eight children under 14 years old in the Atlantic region to become a Mensa member.
'I remember (Elijah's mom) crying when the documents came in,' says Delali Motey, Elijah's father. 'It wasn't a surprise. It became an expectation at that point, and it was just a matter of time just to go through that process…but it was still really, amazing to get that confirmation.'
Nowadays, Elijah spends his time juggling his passion for numbers and his love for soccer.
'My favorite team in the country is Chelsea. My favorite one in the Champions League is Munich,' says Elijah.
Elijah plays at the U9 level and earlier this month participated in a kids tournament for the Halifax Wanderers.
'I made it all the way to the finals, but I lost,' he says.
In many ways, he's just like any six-year-old. His favourite food is pancakes and he loves playing with his friends.
With undeniable talent running through his veins, his parents say the sky is the limit for Elijah, and his two older siblings.
'What we hope for all our kids, including Elijah, is to flourish where their interests and their strengths are,' says Elijah's father.
Encouraging their children everyday is one of many jobs Mercy and Delali Motey take pride in.
Mercy is from Zambia, and Delali is from Ghana.
They've made it a point to pass along their African identity and their faith to their children.
'Every morning and every evening we're telling them, you know, how amazing they are, how special and unique they are, how they're so talented, and they're going to do amazing things in this world,' says Elijah's mother.
Elijah 'Kodjo' Motey
Elijah 'Kodjo' Motey, centre, is now a member of Mensa Canada. (Source: Vanessa Wright/CTV News Atlantic)
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