The Great Ife Students’ Union held its Freshers’ Interfaculty Debate on Tuesday, 11th November, at the 1000-seat Lecture Theatre of the university. It is one of the events lined up for Freshers’ Week 2025. The debate grouped faculties in pairs, each pair given a different motion. One faculty supported the motion while the other opposed it, with over five motions debated over several rounds.
The debate commenced with the Students’ Union PRO warming up the audience with lively remarks and quick side comments. Afterwards, the Masters of Ceremony, Biyi Praise, Cjed, and King Kay took over the program. Ayomide and Musa, freshmen from the faculties of Science and Arts, led the national anthem and the school anthem, respectively.
The panel of judges for the debate were Bello Ruquyyah, Captain, University of Ibadan British Parliamentary Debating Society; Grillo Adedolapo, erstwhile Vice President of OAU; and Oluwademilade Adebanjo, a multiple award-winning debater.
A faculty roll call took place after a short opening prayer to make sure every faculty was well represented. The debaters included Olaoye Olajumoke and Olabisi Olamide, Faculty of Education; Badmus Oluwafisayomi and Adegbite Favour, Faculty of Social Science; Adeagbo Khalid and Ojo Emmanuel, Faculty of Technology; Junaid Abibat and Onasanya Kehinde, Faculty of Administration; Faith Odedunmi and Akande Sinmisola, Faculty of Arts; Abbey Blessing and Durosomo Oluwabukunmi, Faculty of Pharmacy; Eyitayo Oluwaseun and Taiwo Kabirat, Faculty of Agriculture; Adeniyi Oluwadamifunayo and Clinton Kennedy, Faculty of Computing Science; Abraham Emmanuel and Enobong Bassey, Faculty of Science; Olamide Abigail and Timilehin Akinlosotu, Faculty of Clinical Sciences; and, Fanu Boluwatifenisola and Emmanuel Oluwaponmile, Faculty of Basic Medical Science. The Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Environmental Design and Management had no representatives.
One of the judges clearly stated the rules and regulations of the debate including the scoring points. Points were awarded for the logicality of content, stage management, time management among others. All chief speakers had five minutes to argue while supporting speakers were allowed three minutes.
The first round started with the topic, ‘Can Medical Practitioners Refuse to Treat Patients Based on Personal Belief?’ Representatives of the Faculty of Technology supported this motion while the Faculty of Basic Medical Science opposed it. Speakers from the Faculty of Technology stated their argument by explaining the key terms in the topic, such as medical practitioners, personal beliefs, and treatments and also directly quoting from the Constitution of Nigeria. The opposing team, Basic Medical Sciences, engaged the audience with critical interrogations, while building their points on professional obligation, failure of referrals, and discrimination.
The debate moved into the second round with the motion: ‘Governments in Developing Countries should Impose Additional Tax on Companies Replacing Human Workers with AI or Automation’. The Faculty of Education took the affirmative side while the Faculty of Clinical Sciences countered. Both sides presented passionate arguments. This round ended with a giveaway session sponsored by Wolemusic.
Subsequently, a new motion was presented: ‘Government should Heavily Subsidise Industries of Strategic Importance’. This sparked a face-off between participants from the faculties of Agriculture and Computing Science. Despite the display of enthusiasm, many participants struggled with structure and time management, giving the impression of an impromptu debate rather than a fully prepared one.
For round four, the Faculty of Social Science and Pharmacy argued the topic, ‘Only Individuals with Relevant Academic and Industry Expertise within Key Sectors: Power, Education, and Technology should Comment about it on Social Media’.
In the next round, the motion shifted to: ‘Religious Institutions should Employ Religion as a Mandate for Climate Change Advocacy’. This topic was debated by participants from the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Science.
For the final round, the Faculty of Arts argued unopposed due to the absence of representatives for two faculties. They were assessed by the judges on content, presentation, and engagement.
According to the judges, the arguments lacked overall structure with many contestants making it feel more like an impromptu session. Introducing oneself and one’s faculty was deemed unnecessary, while the use of props and reading from notes detracted from the flow of arguments. Stage presentation, confidence, and proper research were also identified as areas that needed attention in case of future competitions. Overall, the rounds were considered less polished than expected.
Six faculties made it to the finale and were given impromptu topics to be argued on Wednesday at the Symposium.
Speaking with InFocus Correspondent in an interview, a representative of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Durosomo Oluwabukunmi, answered a few questions on her opinions about the debate.
What do you find most challenging about debating at this level?
‘Basically, cramming and learning my speech originally, I mean knowing it enough to believe it. But once I was able to do that, delivery seemed easy’, she remarked.
How has this experience improved your communication and critical thinking skills?
‘Other than the real presentation, the development and improvement were in the training sessions, I learned to use more expressions because I used to be monotonous. And for critical thinking, it was simply learning and realising the points to pause when the speech gets too long’, she stated.
Another participant from the Faculty of Social Science, Badmus Oluwafisayomi, answered a few questions.
What inspired you to participate in this interfaculty debate?
She replied, ‘It has always been something I love doing, so I feel this is a good time to show myself and what I can do. So when they asked for volunteers, I decided to participate’.
If you had another chance, what would you do differently?
‘I would improve my research and communication skills, as well as other things that really matter in this field’, Fisayo stated.
In all, the debate was an avenue for the contestants to speak on their opinions about their various topics, and also to probe into the views right. The final results are to be announced during the symposium on Wednesday, November 12 at Oduduwa Hall.