Funmi Ogundare
King’s College, Lagos, yesterday emerged winner of the 11th Felaberation senior secondary schools debate, aimed at providing essential skills for students through building their confidence and developing critical thinking skills, as well as sensitizing them on burning national issues.
The competitors spoke on the topic, ‘Talent Flight is the Real Cost of Corruption’.
The college, represented by Master Abdulrahman Oke, beat five others out of the 10 schools that participated, to win with a laptop computer and Samsung phone. Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, Oregun, Ikeja, represented by Miss Kiibati Ige, came second and got Samsung tablet and a phone, while Miss Aishat Babalola from Gbaja Girls Senior Secondary School, Surulere came third and received a Nokia tablet and Samsung phone
All participating schools got a Yamaha Keyboard.
Speaking to journalists, the Chief Judge of the debate, Mr. Christopher Borha described the competition as a civilized form of conversation which has rules and pressure, saying that one must be able to withstand it.
He added that it teaches competitors how to comport themselves, marshal their points within a limited time, how to make eye contacts and recover from difficulties.
“There are times you forget what you want to say mid sentence, some people collapse when that happens and some people recover. You should have the ability to make your points clearly and your strength is in what you say,” he stated.
He recalled his time as a debater in Igbobi College, saying that debating gives one the confidence and ability to think critically, adding that debaters tend to speak too fast when debating.
“This is a bad habit and in that position, they lose points,” he said, adding that when debaters are calm in the process of marshalling their points, they will be able to forge ahead.
Borha described the standards of the debate as very high, saying that the students’ ability to communicate is very high.
The founder, Msm Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti described the debate as a CSR initiative, saying that over the years, the sponsors have come to appreciate it .
She commended the judges who have been supporting the initiative, adding that the students have to learn things outside their academics, including on the history of the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
She said she was impressed about the performance of students from public schools, saying that most times, they are looked down on.
“Over the years, students from public schools have been winning. This year is the first time they will be coming third position. King’s College has been coming consistently over the years too, but this is the first time they will be coming first,” the founder stated.
The winner, Abdulrahman Oke expressed excitement about his success, saying that his school has been coming for the competition but didn’t succeed.
“For me getting to this round actually made me happy because I put in a lot of work. We were given the topic four or five months ago. The topic is something you must understand very well and so we had conversations on it in school. I feel happy emerging the winner.”
Asked how he was able to prepare within a very short time when the debaters were given new topics during the programme, he said, “I decided to open my mind to different concepts. No knowledge is wasted. I can see something and be interested in learning more about it.”
He advised students to be diligent in what they do rather than allowing any obstacle deprive them of what they want to achieve.
