The Covenant University Literary and Debate Society (CULDS) team has conquered the Nigerian and regional debate community yet again, when they, recently, won the fourth edition of the University of Ilorin Emirates Debate Competition, christened “Word War IV”. The debate team, led by Ayafa Tonye, a final year student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, beat other contestants from universities in Nigeria and Ghana to emerge as the overall winner of the tournament.
Communicating the victory to the Vice-Chancellor recently, Professor Sheriff Folarin, who has been the coordinator and chief coach of the University literary and debate society since 2014, described the path to victory as a tough one because there was little time for preparations as participation was almost cancelled. He said the conquest was a demonstration yet again that with the total casting of all cares to God, coupled with sheer determination, nothing was impossible.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abiodun Adebayo described the feat as very cheering news, as it came amidst celebrations of the hand of God upon the institution after one year in service. Professor Adebayo, who has been a staunch supporter of CULDS and other capacity-enhancing non-classroom based activities of Covenant University students, congratulated the team and pledged greater support moving forward, to further better the lot of the student community and grow the glory and image of the University.
It will be recalled that Covenant University since the founding of CULDS in 2014 has won multiple global, continental and national championships. These include the Uhuru World Opens in South Africa in January 2021; Pan-African Universities Debating Championship (PAUDC) public speaking competition in Kumasi, Ghana in 2019; All-Nigeria Universities Debating Championship (ANUDC) in Ilorin in 2018; Covenant University Invitational (CULDS) in May 2021; the University of Lagos Opens in March 2018; and many more.
In 2016, Covenant hosted the ANUDC, which has been described as the biggest of the organisation’s tournaments since inception. Its faculty member, Professor Folarin was also elected as ANUDC President in 2019 in Calabar and will remain the head of the national body till 2022.
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