Three Nigerian undergraduate teams have won the Expression Undergraduate Debate Challenge 2017 to commemorate the 2017 International Anti-corruption Day celebrated every December 9.
The Expression Undergraduate Debate Challenge 2017 anchored by Youngsters Foundation Communication Associate with support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and BEN TV, London held at the Banquet Hall of the NAF Event Centre, Abuja.
According to the Executive Director, Youngsters Development Initiatives, Mr. Kingsley Bangwell, the three finalists won ₦500,000, ₦300,000 and ₦200,000 respectively. He announced that the winners are from Team Quota (University of Ibadan), Team Dunamis (University of Ibadan) and Team Roar (University of Jos).
First is Team Quora – Adeyemi Idowu 500 level Law and Thanni Obafemi, 200 level Philosophy.
Second is Team Dunamis – Adesokan Adediran 300 level Law and Nwagbara Izuchukwu Temilade, 300 level Law.
Third is Team Roar – Chinedu Isagbha, 300 level Law and Henry Tabansi, 200 level Political Science.
Mr. Bangwell added that the goal of the project is to raise youth awareness, voice and action against corruption in Nigeria.
In his words:
“Raising a generation that is informed, positively engaged in nation building and projecting a great future is the responsibility of all.
We see the debate as a mutual and strategic platform to further advance these national aspirations, which also align with the spirit of patriotism.”
He said in August 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the European Union released a report stating that about 95 percent of Nigerians are willing to indulge in bribery.
According to Mr. Bangwell:
“Most alarming about the report is the aspect stating that young Nigerians aged 35 to 34 years about 36.4 per cent of the entire population have the highest prevalence of bribery in the country. It is against this backdrop that we are focusing this edition of the Expression Debate on the 2017 Anti-corruption Day.”
The project is designed to be an annual platform that leverages the culture of citizen debate to stimulate and raise youth voices and participation in contemporary national issues.
The Expression Undergraduate Debate Challenge 2017 featured 36 undergraduate teams from different tertiary institutions in Nigeria who emerged from three different auditions in November 2017.
