14-year-old Esther Wins Nigeria Info’s Student Debate Competition

A 14-year-old student of Silversands Hall School, Lekki, Esther Bewaji, has emerged as the overall winner of the third edition of Nigeria Info’s “I Beg To Differ” students debate tournament.

The competition, which began in May 2022, attracted hundreds of applications from secondary school students in Lagos State between the ages of 13 to 17 years.

This is in a bid to encourage the educational development of Nigerian youths through a highly-interactive platform that stimulates intellectual conversations around the complex socio-economic issues affecting the growth and development of the country.
The grand finale of the competition, which was broadcast live on Nigeria Info’s Hard Fact Show, had Esther defeating Hameed Olarewaju, an SS2 student of Rainbow College Day School, Lekki, after debating on a socio-political topic which was entitled “Nigerians Are Getting the Politicians they Deserve.”

Speaking on the successful completion of the competition, Femi Obong Daniels, the General Manager of Corporate Affairs for Cool FM, Wazobia FM, and Nigeria Info, commended the contestants for demonstrating a high level of brilliancy and resilience to pull through the various stages of the competition.

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“I want to use this medium to congratulate all the contenders who have pulled through the various stages of the debate tournament. I understand it is not an easy process as you all have been challenged to stretch your intellectual capacity by debating complex socio-economic issues of both national and global importance,” he said.

Expressing her excitement after emerging as the winner of the competition, Esther Bewaji, expressed her sincere gratitude to everyone who supported her in achieving this level of success.

Esther was awarded a one-million-naira cash prize, a laptop, and a tablet, while the first-runner up, Hameed Olanrewaju, received 500,000 naira, a smartphone, and a tablet. The second-runner up, Qoowiyyah Wuraola Salam, an SS2 student of At-Tanzeel Schools, won 250,000 naira, a Bluetooth speaker, and a tablet.