By: Adedipe Toluwanimi
The University of Ibadan secured third place at the finals of Obafemi Awolowo University’s (OAU) Tug of Words Tournament, held on June 14, 2025, at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University.
The event, which followed the British Parliamentary format, saw four universities competing in the finals after navigating through the preliminary stage.
The competition kicked off with a preliminary round on June 7, 2025, held virtually via Google Meet.
Eight universities participated in the round, including the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Covenant University, Ajayi Crowther University, Obafemi Awolowo University, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Lagos State University (LASU), and Ambrose Alli University(AAU).
These schools were grouped into two rooms for the debate.
In Room One, UI faced UNILAG and Covenant University, as Ambrose Alli University failed to show up.
From this group, UI and UNILAG advanced to the finals while in Room Two, OAU and LASU (who were later replaced by FUTA due to their unavailability) secured the top spots, qualifying them for the final showdown.
For the finals, each school debated the motion:”This house would program the robots to hide the existence of past human life on Earth.”
The motion was based on the following Infoslide: It is far into the future. Earth is no longer habitable, and the human race is on the verge of extinction. Advanced technologies, including space travel, have been mastered. Thousands of human embryos, frozen in artificial wombs, are being sent to a distant, habitable planet. These embryos will be raised by robots programmed to develop, protect, and educate the ‘New Children’ once they arrive.
At the end of the debate, Obafemi Awolowo University emerged champions, followed by FUTA in second place and the University of Ibadan in third.
Representing UI at the tournament were Eriomala John, a fifth-year Medical student, and Sapphire Mclaniyi, a fourth-year Communication and Language Arts student, both members of the British Parliamentary Society, University of Ibadan.
Also present at the event were the President of the Literary and Debating Society, UI, Babatimehin Peace, Captain of the British Parliamentary Debate Society, Bello Ruqayyah, alongside other members of the British Parliamentary Society.
Reflecting on the tournament, Eriomala John, one of University of Ibadan’s representatives, shared his thoughts in a brief interview.
He expressed gratitude for the experience despite the team not ranking higher.
“I wish we ranked higher but I’m grateful for the experience,” he said.
“A lot of credit has to go to my partner, Sapphire, who pulled through despite receiving alarming news midway through the debate.
And also to the UI British Parliamentary Debating Society, for the culture of excellence that’s been preserved, and the TLDS, for their constant support”.
The Tug of Words tournament was one of the major events held as part of the Obafemi Awolowo Students’ Union Week.
