The duo of Jeremy Noel and Raymond Chuma-Onwuoku of the University Of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) have emerged the overall winners of the just concluded 10th edition of the All Nigeria Universities Debating Championship (ANUDC) hosted by Veritas University, Abuja.
According to results at the end of the Championship, University of Ilorin (UniIlorin) was rated runners-up, while University of Ibadan (UnIbadan) finished in the third position.
The best speaker was Mohammed Habib from (Unilorin). Benita Umeh and Francisca Mbanwusi emerged as Novice Champion just as Adetunji Tesleem of Unilorin bagged the Best New Speaker award.
For public speaking, Adigun Bukola Mary from UnIbadan emerged as champion.
Onyeka Mirabelle of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Hussein Abdulbasit from Usman Danfodio University Sokoto placed second and third respectively.
With the theme for this year’s edition tagged “Youth, Governance and Sustainable development; The Future We Desire”, organisers said the standard has gone a notch higher, and that they anticipated the competitiveness of the new kids in the block offered to challenge for the ultimate price.
Speaking to Journalists, tournament director of events, and the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of ANUDC, Dr. Chukwudi Victor Odoeme, while faulting lack of funding and sponsorship, charged highly relevant government agencies and other parastatals to pay attention to education, as the future of the country lies in the academic institutions.
“Hosting has been challenging, with electricity, and having to feed people with the little money and inflation we are experiencing, but then having to do anything for the kids is what we are here for, I am happy to do this, and I will be willing to do it again.
“I want to use the opportunity to appeal to the President, speaker of the house of representatives, Ministers of Education, TETFUND, JAMB and others, to pay particular attention to this debate Championship because this is where the future of our country lies,” he said.
Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Rev. Fr. Professor Hyacinth Eme Ichoku, said the essence of the debate was to inculcate democratic values in the students.
He said, “This is a great opportunity and a great excercise, we are trying to inculcate the young people true democratic values in the society”
“It is intellectually stimulating that you are able to convince and marshall argument for what you believe, and your perspective to issues is extremely important, that is intellectual development, and so we are developing students intellectually, and that is what we are doing at Veritas University.”
The final of Championship was heralded by speeches by guest speakers, invited guests and representatives of Minister of Education and other government bodies.
Up to 19 universities from across the country participated in this year’s edition of the championship, as over 105 students marked their presence in attendance.
The next edition is expected to be staged between August and September, 2024.
