ABSU Qualifies For World Universities Debating Championship; Gets Full Scholarship For Teams

Abia State University Debate Club has qualified for World’s Universities Debating Championship which has been slated to hold at South Korea, July this year. The Invitation sent to the ABSU Debate Club came with a scholarship grant for the Teams that will represent the University.

World’s Universities Debating Championship is a gathering of top debating Universities in the world. During the last edition, WUDC featured over 3000 Universities from across continents.

THE AGORA MEDIA In a chat with the Director and Coach of Abia State University Debate Club, Mr. Emmanuel Shebbs, he said, “to qualify for Worlds (WUDC), you have to satisfy the selection panel that you are up to it. You have to present a rich record of achievements in the debating circuit within your country and continent”.

It was reported last year that Abia State University Debate Club emerged as Nigeria’s Best in Public Speaking and Africa’s Best Emerging University in Debating. ABSU equally produced the 3rd and 7th Best Teams at Pan African Universities Debating Championship.

It was equally reported that ABSU Debate Club had won 12 Institutional Awards and over 50 Individual Awards in one year within and outside Nigeria.

Mr. Shebbs expressed optimism that ABSU Debate Club will shine on world’s stage. “At Worlds (WUDC), you close-shave with top class universities like Harvard, Wits, Manchester, Liverpool etc. They’re all gonna be there and we too are gonna share the microphone with them”.

From the list published by the WUDC Panel, ABSU is among the four Universities in Africa that qualified for the tournament and the only University in Nigeria.

Participating at WUDC this year makes ABSU the automatic Board Member representing Nigeria at World Universities Debating Council.

Also, in the mail sent to the Club, the Teams that will represent ABSU have been granted full scholarship to participate at the Tournament holding next month at North Korea.

Mr. Shebbs called for more stakeholder involvement in intellectual activities in Nigeria.

“I want to call on our stakeholders to see the need to support intellectual events like debate. We have to encourage our youths to develop their minds, sense of articulation and logic. Ideas rule the world and ideas are best furnished when debated upon”.

Mr. Shebbs noted that the excellent records of ABSU Debate Club is anchored on the support from the Vice Chancellor.

“The Vice Chancellor Professor Onyemachi Maxwell Ogbulu has been very committed to seeing students advance their career in debating. He appreciates Intelligence and he invests in activities that will spiral up the intellectual lives of the Students. I sincerely appreciate the Vice Chancellor for being supportive and we promise to make ABSU, Abia State and Nigeria proud”, he concluded