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After weeks of extensive debates on diverse socio-economic and political issues that pertain to the overall development of Nigeria, Ruth Okorocha, a 14-year-old student of King’s Way College, has emerged winner of the second edition of Nigeria Info’s “I Beg To Differ” student debate competition.
The debate, which began on March 4, 2022, had hundreds of applications from secondary school students between the ages of 13 and 17 years. This is aimed at creating an educative platform to encourages Nigerian youths to hold intellectually-stimulating conversations that centre on the issues affecting the overall progress of the country. This will invariably develop the intellectual capabilities of the youthful population across Nigeria to critically assess complex socio-economic issues that address national growth and development.
The final lap of the competition, which was aired live on Nigeria Info’s Hard Facts show, had Ruth conquering Debrah Pamzat, a 15-year-old student of Senior College, Kankon, Badagry, after debating on a social-political topic centred on the need for people to be considered indigenes of their spouse’s state of origin.
Commenting on the success of the competition, Serge Noujaim, the CEO of Cool FM, Nigeria Info, and Wazobia FM, congratulated the finalists for their resilience throughout the various stages of the competition.
“I sincerely want to use this medium to congratulate all the contestants who have participated at various levels in this competition. I understand that this debate tournament is a challenging one, as everyone displayed brilliance throughout the diverse stages. I am, therefore, confident that everyone selected for this contest is a winner. This is because providing a platform that grooms the confidence level of teenagers, who are the future leaders, is definitely one of the profound ways of securing the future of our great country. As such, I am confident that all the contestants have garnered experiences that will shape their perspectives on socio-political issues going forward,” he said.
Sharing her excitement after emerging as the winner of the second edition of the competition, Ruth Okorocha, expressed her deep appreciation to everyone who assisted her in achieving this success as she could not have done it alone.
“I am sincerely grateful to everyone who assisted me in one way or the other to be a part of this debate tournament. I am also grateful to Nigeria Info for giving me the opportunity to express my ideas on a few national issues. It afforded me the privilege to also learn from other debaters,” she enthused.
Ruth was given a one-million-naira cash prize, a laptop, a Chromebook, a notebook, while the first runner-up, Debrah Pamzat from Senior College in Badagry, received 500,000 naira, a Chromebook, an iPhone, and a tablet. The second-runner up, Olamilekan Ramadan from Federal Government College, Ijanikin, got 250,000 naira, a portable speaker, and a tablet.
The “I Beg To Differ” Student Debate Tournament is a novel imitative from Nigeria Info that strives to develop the intellectual ability of Nigerian youths on a national scale.
