By: Nnamdi Maduauchi
On the 25th of November, 2023. The Literary and Debating Society of the Great Independence Hall held the first edition of their inter-house debate contest. The event, which took place at the cafeteria of the hall featured riveting speeches from the new members of the literary and debating society.
The members had been divided into houses; Ingrid and Dionys and they went head to head on a variety of topics, with House Dionys proposing and House Ingrid opposing. The judges present at the contest wereTioluwalope Salami, the former president of the L&D; Habeeb Abdul Akorede, the president of UI’s British parliamentary debate club; and Amarachi Nwoigwe, the president of Alexander Brown Hall’s literary.
Also present at the contest was the Administrator General of the hall; Ogunremi Samuel, and the secretary of UI’s TLDS; Ogonna Okere.
The Competition was split into four rounds and featured a total of 15 rookie speakers.
In the first round, Mayowa Adekola Peculiar and Bolu Animashaun from Dionys faced off against Adesina Pelumi and Olayinka Oluwatosin from House Ingrid, as they debated the topic, “Should Nigeria Continue to Take Loans?” After 16 minutes of speeches from both sides, Ingrid emerged victorious, with Olayinka Oluwatosin being named the best speaker for that round.
In round two, debating on the topic, “Nigerian Police Force is the Biggest Threat to Security in Nigeria” were Sanni Tobiloba and Ajayi Paul from Dionys and Ochi Maduabuchi and Bina Jesse from Ingrid. Ingrid once again emerged victorious in this round, with Ochi Maduabuchi getting Best Speaker for the round.
Round three featured two solo speakers, Salvador Oladapo from Dionys and Ingrid’s Ogunleye Moboluwarin as they debated the topic “Africa is yet to Gain Independence”. Ingrid got another victory in this round, and Moboluwarin was named as the best speaker for the round.
In the final round, Nasrudeen Abdulateef and Akinloye from Dionys spoke against Utibe Emmanuel, whose partner was unable to show up for the event. Dionys won the round, but Ingrid still managed to steal the spot of best speaker which went to Utibe Emmanuel.
Due to a tie between Ogunleye Moboluwarin and Olayinka Oluwatosin–who both got 78.3–for overall best speaker, a short impromptu contest was held in which Moboluwarin pulled ahead to get overall best speaker, with Tosin getting first runner up and Utibe coming in third place with a close 78.
When asked how he felt about winning overall best speaker, Moboluwarin said, “It feels good. Glad to see that all my hard work came to fruition”
The meeting ended with cries of joy from the members of House Ingrid.
