CMS Grammar School, Bariga, over the weekend, emerged victorious at the maiden edition of ‘Dare2Debate’ 2025 inter-school competition organised by HACmedia.
The school defeated two others — Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School, Bariga and Aresther Divine School, Ajao Estate — to emerge as the winner with 77 points and a cash prize of N300,000.
Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School came second with 75 points and got a N200,000 cash prize, while Aresther Divine School, with 70 points, got N100,000.
In the first round, Sanusi Emmanuel of CMS Grammar debated Ibehkwe Precious of Bishop Howells on “Homework has never been so relevant as it is.”
Sanusi argued that homework is no longer relevant in today’s context, while Ibehkwe Precious countered that homework is still essential for students’ understanding, discipline, and long-term learning.
The second round featured Adebayo Adejumoke of Bishop Howells debating Aresther School on “Is poverty a big crime in Nigeria?” Adebayo argued that poverty drives crime, citing lack of social amenities, peer pressure, and emotional hardship as factors.
In the final round, Chukwudalu Okafor of CMS Grammar faced Kelvin Chukwuma of Bishop Howells on “What has Artificial Intelligence done to human creativity?” Chukwudalu argued that AI enhances creativity, while Kelvin warned that over-reliance on AI can reduce critical thinking.
The Dare2Debate initiative is actively building the next generation of leaders and critical thinkers.
Its core program, “Think, Speak, and Lead,” leverages debate among secondary school students to cultivate essential public speaking and intellectual skills.
The lead organiser of Dare2Debate, Davies Ikpoyi, in his remarks, explained that the debate programme was aimed at sharpening critical thinking among secondary school students.
He said, “We want to let Nigerians know that students can actually get better with conversations, with thinking, with public speaking, and with the way they address conversations and situations.
“That’s why we’re here, because the essence of the debate is to train senior secondary school students — youth, majorly— on public speaking, critical thinking, and mind management. And all of these usually culminates to something bigger, which happens to be the debate event, where everybody comes together to debate for a just cause. And I mean a just cause; it is not a show of force.
“Debates usually are battles with words, knowledge, and wit. So the essence of all of those training was because we wanted to do this, and that’s why we’re here.
“The need for young people to have better communications without having the need to feel haunted, intimidated, or feeling that somebody is after their life.”
Also, Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana in his special address, urged students to reflect on Nigeria’s economic decline and social issues.
Falana argued that poverty results from failed leadership, not destiny, and encouraged youth to study, think critically, and question societal challenges.
He further called for restrictions on social media access for individuals under the age of 16 in Nigeria, echoing growing global concerns over the impact of online platforms on young people.
Falana said, “There is an ongoing debate around the world with respect to the use of telephones or access to social media by young people. Some countries are restricting it. Australia has just insisted that you cannot access social media if you are under 16.
“And, once it is adopted by the United States or the UK, in particular, Nigeria, being a neo-colony, will also be bound to follow suit. But one way or the other, it certainly has to be regulated in the interest of our children.
“Do you know what I mean by a neo-colonial country? A country that claims to be independent but is still very much coloured in all circumstances. Nigeria is the colour of the United Kingdom.”
Speaking on the argument that poverty is fuelling criminal activities in Nigeria, Falana opposed it, saying many people were pushed into the act because of poverty and unemployment.
He said, “First of all, Nigerians are not criminals. If you compare the crime rate here with the United States of America, or some other countries, or South Africa, you will know that Nigerians are not into serious crimes, but because poverty and unemployment have been allowed by the government to be the lot of our people, many people are pushed into criminality.
“However, we have cases of underemployment in Nigeria. So it is not totally true, right, that there are no job opportunities, but we choose, for instance, many of our people who go abroad. Jobs they consider ‘infra dignitatem’ here, that is, below their standard, is what those are the jobs they jump at abroad.
“For instance, graduates who are gainfully employed there are made to believe that once they travel abroad, the sky is the limit of opportunities for them. So they get there, and they are forced to embark on dirty jobs.”
Sanusi Emmanuel, an SS3 student of CMS Grammar, commended the organisers and the event, saying, “I learned valuable lessons from the debates and from other participants.
“It was an eye-opening experience, and I appreciate the organisers for creating this platform. Everything I gained here will stay with me,” he said.
