The fourth edition of the 'I Beg To Differ' tournament which began on Monday has seen its first quarterfinalists.
The tournament began with 13-year-old Fabian Chigbundu from Cayley College and 14-year-old Israel Adeola from Star Diamond International School debating the topic, 'Technology is Creating More Jobs Than it Eliminates.'
According to Fabian Chigbundu, who opposed the motion, technological advancements have eliminated job opportunities around the world despite their profitability.
He said technology will undoubtedly render humans useless in carrying out daily activities, with the rate of developments in Artificial Intelligence.
His opponent, Israel Adeola argued that technology creates more jobs in the race to digitalize every aspect of daily life.
To remain relevant in the job market, Adeola stated that individuals must possess digital or technological skills.
Having weighed arguments and points from both debaters, the judges declared Fabian the winner of the day’s first debate session, progressing to the next round of the tournament.
Israel Adeola on the other hand had her points deducted for plagiarism.
Up next was the second debate of the day. This time it was 16-year-old Temitope Johnson of Caleb International College and 14-year-old Praize Offormezie Onuchi of Newhall International School who faced off on the topic, 'Nigeria's President and Vice President Should be of Different Faiths.'
Praise Offormezie Onuchi, who supported the motion, insisted that "choosing the president and vice-president from the same religion is a way of not showing enough respect to the religious tension in the country."
She added that the president and the vice-president being from different religions creates room for proper representation of both faiths.
Her opponent, Temitope Johnson, stated that voters have other options if a party's presidential candidate chooses a running-mate from the same faith.
In his opinion, countries around the world pay more attention to the credibility and performance of candidates than their religions.
After consideration by the panel of judges, Praise Offormezie Onuchi emerged as the winner of the second debate session, progressing to the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
