Awarded N1 million Star Prize
Fifteen-year-old Mary Uke Ashia has emerged as the winner of the sixth season of Nigeria Info’s ‘I Beg to Differ’ debate tournament.The SS3 student of Wellspring College in Lagos defeated 16-year-old Minanengyofori David of New Hall International in the final round on Thursday, December 21, 2023, to win the N1 million star prize.Ashia scored an aggregate of 406.5 points to David’s 385 after two rounds of debates on the topics ‘AI is a threat to human existence’ and ‘Hamas is responsible for the genocide in Gaza, not Israel’. She described the I Beg to Differ (IBTD) debates as electrifying.
“I feel elated about getting this award because it’s something that I came out to debate with 31 other students,” she said. “And out of over 200 students who applied, we were chosen, and then we got to the final stage. If anything else, I am, actually, happy for everyone whom I ever debated against because debating them was always a pleasure and it always made debating electric. And we were always able to just connect, get our points across, and still be able to have this powerful connection.”Other prizes she took home are a wristwatch, atablet, an HP laptop, a Green Lion folding laptop stand, and a Green Lion 3-in-1 Set.David got N500,000, a GP Pro Gaming Console, Green Lion Earbuds, a Green Lion Smart Watch, and a tablet.Earlier on Thursday, Akilo Charles of CMS Grammar School defeated Claire Mica of New Hall International School when they sparred on the topic, ‘The Super Falcons Deserve Equal Pay as the Super Eagles,’ to emerge as the third-place winner.
The sixth season of IBTD began on November 20, with 32 contestants debating in the playoff stage.They exchanged views on topics ranging from democracy to public health, education policy, social media regulation, the economy, the rule of law, and societal norms.The contestants narrowed to 16 students participating in the Round of 16, from which eight made it to the quarterfinals.The semifinals had Akilo Charles square against Minanengyofori David while Mary Uke Ashia debated Claire Mica.
The Group General Manager of Cool FM, Wazobia FM, and Nigeria Info FM, Femi Obong-Daniels,remarked thatthe IBTD debate tournament has been successful in getting young people to discover themselves. “It started like a joke, but we always knew that we weren’t laughing,” he said. “We really wanted to give a voice to the young ones and what better place to go than the secondary schools where these young teenagers are discovering themselves and learning the art of expression? It was the whole idea behind the whole idea of the I Beg to Differ student debate tournament. And over time, we’ve seen how powerful a tool this has been in lending a voice to the young.”
The tournament is Nigeria Info FM’s flagship event that started in November 2021. The four semi-finalists of the sixth season will take part in a national tournament in the second quarter of 2024 for a chance to explore more current affairs and policy topics and win a N5 million grand prize. They will join four other contestants from IBTD Debate Tournament Season 7, four from IBTD Abuja, and another four from IBTD Port Harcourt for the national tournament to feature 16 contestants. The auditions for IBTD Season 7 will commence on December 25, 2023, and the tournament will start on February 12, 2024
