Jaw War: West Africa’s Largest Debate Tournament Set To Hold; Needs N6m

Tijani Abdulkabeer

Jaw War, the biggest debate tournament in West Africa organized by The Literary and Debating Society (TLDS) of the University of Ibadan, will go national for the first time ever. 

The new model of this highly competitive public speaking competition was revealed by the society’s President, Ayeni Otito-jesu, during a press conference at the institution on Thursday. 

According to him, the decision to make the competition go national was driven by the need to explore its potentials and bring on board other speakers to debate topical issues affecting humanity, engage in social conversations, and ultimately proffer highly-rated solutions that can be transformed into policies for growth, peace and national development in the presence of over 5000 people.

Otito-jesu added that this edition of the tournament will bring a change to the existing irregularities in the competition in a bid to make it bigger, better, and stronger. 

“We will be making some reforms to the modalities of Jaw War. For instance, for quality control and effective speakership, we will be training 250 speakers in preparation for the competition; we shall make use of 20 fact-checkers to verify facts and statistics given by the speakers; we also will have an exhibition of speechmaking in 3 different indigenous languages and many more,” he noted. 

‘We Need Six Million’

For the successful organization of this year’s event, the Literary and Debating Society says it needs N6 million.

“This year, we will be needing the sum of ₦6million to cater for everything as it concerns JawWar 2021. We seek the support of the general public to support this cause and give in their donations. And anyone willing to sponsor or partner with us can contact +234 708 994 9929; +234 812 621 3472 or reach us through uilndsociety@gmail.com,” Otito-Jesu added.

He maintained that with all sense of responsibility, the tournament will ensure it continues its annual tradition of building astute speakers who will be leaders of tomorrow, harping that “with strategic partnerships, with forwarding thinking individuals and brands, this year shall be done excellently and exceptionally.”

The theme for the tournament this year is ‘Africa in The Era of The New Normal’. According to the organizers, this theme, based on substantial analysis, pinpoints the need to discuss, analyze and disparagingly examine the state and relevance of Nigeria and Africa in the face of the change that has occurred globally–the new normal.

“Hence, we shall reflect on the current situation of our country/continent by debating 65 topics cutting across different sectors/industries of the nation; proffering potential solutions; proposing policies; and instituting philosophies that can shape the nation to become relevant once again on the global stage,” Otito-Jesu explained. 

Jaw War 

In its seventh year, Jaw War is an annual debate competition among all ten halls of residence and fifteen faculties in the University of Ibadan. 

The debate tournament, which has been held consistently for 6 years with this being the 7th edition since its revival in 2014, has grown in quality and intensity and now boasts as the largest intellectual student event in any University in Nigeria.