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Good day and welcome to the elimination round of Nairaland InterSchool Debate, Third edition.

You guessed right, we are still on the Battle of wits between schools and a winner must emerge at the finals of this competition.

The third edition of NISD started in the month of December, 2015 with essay submissions by the debaters which brought us to the 16 schools now contesting. Kindly go through this link and be updated, https://www.nairaland.com/2811855/nairaland-interschool-debate-third-edition#41154623

The elimination round commences this weekend and will run strictly on weekends starting on the 23rd of January to 14th February 2016.

This round which has 16 schools competing against the other will give way to 8 schools for the quarter finals of this competition.

Unlike the previous stage, this stage will not be assessed on essay submissions alone but also on how convincing the debaters respond to points raised by their opponents, as well as questions raised by the judges and the audience. Hence, it is paramount to state here that all representatives,

i) bring to board their A-game as our judges are already aware of their great task ahead.

ii) get themselves equipped with the needed resources for the debate, e.g battery, data, network, etc to avoid loss of points.


All enquiries and chit chats should be done here please https://www.nairaland.com/2446965/nairaland-interschool-debate-chatroom-third/15#41073706

DEBATE RULES

Kindly read.

1.) The recommended font size is the default size (size 8.) and the colour is the default colour (black).

2.) The essay should be in maximum of 1000 words.

3.) The use of SMS language and abbreviations are strictly forbidden.

4.) All materials used should be properly referenced at the end of the essay.

5.) All essays must be submitted on the stipulated date and time.

6.) Sole representatives are not allowed during the competition, both representatives must be present.

7.) All representatives are to engage in rebuttals and give answers to questions raised by the judges and the audience.

8.) Word counts should be strictly adhered to. http://www.wordcounttool.com/

9.) Mindless lifting is outrightly discouraged

10.) Defaulters will be penalized when caught

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PROCEDURES

6:55 -- Debaters(Menzo4u, Betacitizen, noskyboy, obiZEAL) and judges(Jarus, Freemanan, Isacolukay) register presence

7:00 – The organizer, Fynestboi declares the debate open

7:00 - 7:30 -- Debaters post their arguments within 30 minutes, maximum word limit is 1000

7:30 – 8:30pm – Rebuttals - A debater takes on his opponent’s view, puncturing his or her points - This the debater does by quoting the said comment and then countering it with his or her own views.

8:20 – 8:40pm – Judges post questions to debaters either on what the debater has posited or revolving around the debate topic, albeit, this is not compulsory, it is acceptable for a judge not to have questions for the debaters... Judges with questions should please be specific as to which debater they are posting their questions to. E.g “Mr X, could you expatiate what you meant by subsidy? or ...., kindly give examples to your claim that the removal of fuel subsidy is justified.

8:40 – 9:00pm – Debaters respond to questions raised by judges

9:00 – 9:20pm – Two questions will be entertained from the audience i.e. viewers and this will be based on ‘fastest fingers’. After the 2 questions, other questions will be attended to after the debate or perhaps, if the debater is free during the debate to respond to them, he or she can do so, however, points will not be awarded after the 2 questions.

9:20 – 9:30pm – Debaters respond to audience questions and concludes their arguments. Debaters who were not asked any questions can still conclude his/her arguments during this time.

9:30 – 9:40pm – Judges compile their scores and mail to coordinators with a copy to Nairalandinterschooldebate@gmail.com

9:40 – 10:00pm - Coordinators announce results, after which the thread will be thrown open for regular Nairaland discussions.

DEBATE MODALITIES

5 points to be awarded to each criteria.

1. Presentation (opening, flow, paragraphs, grammar, punctuations, word count, closing,)

2. Logic of arguments

3. Strength of facts, examples, cases.

4. Persuasiveness

5. Demonstration of knowledge and understanding of the subject

6. Rebuttals and response to questions raised by the judges and the audience

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I remain Luxanne, and am the coordinator for Team 1, with me are the officiating judges,

Jarus
Freemanan
Isacolukay




Topic: Is (the removal of fuel) subsidy justified in Nigeria?


Date: 23rd January 2016

Time: 7pm


Let us now meet the schools contesting:

Yaba College of Technology, or YABATECH, is Nigeria's first higher educational institution. It is located in Yaba, Lagos.
Yaba College of Technology was established in 1947 as a successor of Yaba Higher College. It attained autonomous status in 1969 by virtue of Decree 23. The name was changed to Federal Polytechnic Yaba in 1979, but changed back to the current one in 1980.

Yaba College of Technology is the first higher institution in Nigeria to establish a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, with linkages with the world of commerce and industry. There is also a Quality Assurance Unit in the college which monitors the quality of academic service delivery.
The Applied Research and Technology Innovation (ARTI) Unit was established to promote research and linkages with private sector organizations for the exploitation and use of research.

Rector: DR. M. K. LADIPO

Yabatech Motto is a latin lingua franca, Labore et Veritate which means - By Labour and By Truth.

Website: www.yabatech.edu.ng

Welcome the Yabatech debaters who will be supporting the notion...

►Menzo4u
► Betacitizen

---

The University of Jos (UNIJOS), abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria.

What became University of Jos was established in November 1971 as a satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. The first students were admitted in January 1972 as pre-degree students with the first Bachelor of Arts degree program begun in October 1973. In October 1975, then military government under General Murtala Mohammed, established the Unijos as a separate institution. The first Vice-Chancellor of the Unijos was Professor Gilbert Onuaguluchi. Classes began at the newly reorganized University of Jos in October 1976 with 575 students spread over the existing four faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Education, Natural Sciences and Medical Sciences. Post-graduate programs were added in 1977. By 1978 Faculties of Law and Environmental Sciences were established and the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences were separated.

In 2003, the Carnegie Corporation of New York gave Unijos a US $2 million grant to form its own fundraising department.

Motto: Discipline and Dedication

Vice-Chancellor: Professor Hayward Babale Mafuyai



Meet the representatives from UniJos opposing the notion,

► Noskyboy
► ObiZEAL

Fynestboi:

To join the munificent in ensuring the participant instigation, kindly send a mail to.. nairalandinterschooldebate@gmail.com.

Simply put, we need sponsors for the debate.


THANKS..

---

Sponsors

Ymodulus:
ifyalways:
Jarus
Jaybee3
All judges




GIVEAWAYS



► A hard copy of the book "The Road to Victoria Island" authored by Mr. Jarus to the debaters of the winning school.

► A soft copy (ebook version) to be given to each debater of the second placed team.

► Best debater to be invited to JarusHub Networking Event - an avenue to meet and dine with some Lagos professionals in a top restaurant in Lagos (This meet holds on every last Saturday of every month, and the debater is free to choose the month he prefers from June to December 2016).


Courtesy: JarusHub Career Consulting

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Please while the submission of the essay is going on, only the contestants, coordinators, Chairman and Supermods (if need be) can post.




Pls let's comply, as defaulters might attract 3 hours ban (duration of the essay submission).




You can however comment simultaneously at the planning thread.


https://www.nairaland.com/2446965/nairaland-interschool-debate-chatroom-third/40




Thank you.







Come and witness the mother of all e-Essay Competition on the biggest Section of the biggest online forum in Africa..

...reppin' for UJ!

Yabatech present

also reping for UNIJOS

Good evening all.

Present

in tha building!

7:00 – The organizer, Fynestboi declares the debate open

Like yesterday we deliberated and created a platform where online intellectual relationship will abound among not only university undergraduates, but also polytechnics, college of education to put away discrimination among undergraduates, and in turn create a platform that exist beyond the internet world, and now we are here with loads of testimonies, amidst turbulent challenges, discouragement, and unfathomable storm and yet we stood/stand strong.

I am elated to welcome you all to the third chapter of "The book" Nairaland Interschool debate to the participants I appreciate the time and determination you put into this intellectual exercise, and to the Coordinators I don't know how to appreciate you I will just say I love you all, and to judges for sparing out of your busy offline schedule time to attend to us I say we are forever indebted to you sir/ma, to the audience keep energizing the participants both with your support and all, to the owner of this site, my boss Oluwaseun I say thank you.

With no much ado, I say once again welcome to the third edition of Nairaland Interschool debate Elimination stage. I hereby declare this debate open. I wish all participants Best of luck. Thanks..



# gives the mic to the Coordinator(Luxanne)

present

7:00 - 7:30 -- Debaters post their arguments within 30 minutes, maximum word limit is 1000

Sequel to the above Yabatech first speaker can you post your argument.


Menzo4u
Betacitizen

.

It is without doubt, the fountain of Nigeria's wealth, it is indeed an enviable blessing to have it in our dear nation, I am referring to nothing but the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) which synonymously translates to fossil fuel or petrol.

Before taking the driver's seat on today's subject of discourse, my unreserved salutation goes to the committed orgainisers of this debate, the credible judges, intelligent debaters, and the ever-following audience. I am Jimoh Ahmed Temitope, menzo4u by moniker, representing the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, Yabatech.

Fuel Subsidy, according freedictionary.com, is a monetary assistance granted by a government to a person or group in support of an enterprise regarded as being in the public interest.
In layman's view, which I term the "bricklayer's explanation", there is a certain amount of money that the government is paying to some people known as "Oil Marketers", as a form of assistance for them to reduce the cost of the burden of oil importation on them, they are paid a certain amount of money, when this payment is made, it is called "fuel subsidy".

So the topic is simply asking this question, “the government has decided to stop paying this money (fuel subsidy). Is it a justified action?". To this, I say "yes".

First and foremost, you will agree with me that the scam, called subsidy should not in anyway be given any consideration in the dictionary of Nigeria. None of the major sectors is practically working in the country, the education sector is screaming for help, the value of our currency is bleeding to death, the health sector is nothing to write home about. So it is definitely justifiable for the government to stop, remove, or eliminate fuel subsidy in order to use the money generated to revive the major sectors of the economy.

In addition, according to a news report on DailyTrust (December 15, 2015), the current Minster of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, affirms that Nigeria spent N1Trillion on fuel subsidy in 2015 alone, which is more than the nation's total budget for two years on other important sectors of the economy. Imagine the economic benefit Nigerians stand to gain if this huge sum of money was channeled into the non-oil sector.

Furthermore, by re-investing the money generated from the removal of fuel subsidy into an important sector like the agricultural sector (for instance), this will not only boost the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also be a saviour to our fast depreciating currency.

So far, I have come to the realization that Nigeria can be compared to a recharge card seller who has a damaged printing machine (for printing recharge cards), but instead of repairing it, he prefers patronizing another firm for the printing, and thereby losing a huge part of his profit to another organisation. Such is the case of my dear nation, Nigeria has a total of four refineries which can be repaired and effectively maintained to refine crude and produce oil locally. Why is it then justifiable for the government to be paying some so called oil marketers instead of bringing our refineries back to life?

More so, the benefits Nigerians stand to gain from fuel subsidy removal is enormous, there will be more concentration on diversifying the economy, more financial resources will be channeled on infrastructural development, creation of employment through industrialisation, and servicing the country's debt among other merits.

My opponent may argue that the removal of fuel subsidy will bring about increase in pump price of fuel, and this will bring about economic austerity on the citizens. I strongly believe that as lovers of Nigeria, we must be ready to make necessary sacrifices for the development of our motherland, the assumed "austerity" will definitely be a temporary one, that is, if at all the global prices of oil go high. I agree with J.M Bark on this quote, “you can have anything in life if you can sacrifice everything else for it". Sacrifice is part of life.

My opponent may also want to find leverage in saying that corruption and mismanagement of fund will greet the money generated from the removal of fuel subsidy, but I strongly believe in the present administration's stance against corruption, as this is vividly evident in the way it has been tackled with high level of gravity so far.
With Mrs Kemi Adeosun as the "striking" finance minister, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as the "defensive midfielder" in the petroleum ministry, and president Muhammadu Buhari as the "coaching" president in the country, and Mr. Ibrahim Magu of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the watchdog, the case of corruption will be drastically reduced if not completely eliminated.

In conclusion, the failure or success of the future of our country depends on the actions we take today, and posterity will judge us for it. On this note, as a proud ambassador of this country, having seen the pending benefits that the masses stand to gain from the removal of fuel subsidy, I say boldly and firmly that it is completely justified. Thanks.

Reference:
Definition of Subsidy
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Fuel+subsidy

J.M Bark's quote
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/sacrifice

Mr. Ibe Kachikwu on fuel subsidy
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/nigeria-spends-n1tr-on-fuel-subsidy-in-2015-kachikwu/124416.html

Thank you Fynestboi.


Good evening everyone

The best way to learn in life is to get information from those who are already experienced, this is why, on this note, I shall start this debate by quoting an erudite Chief Economist, Razia Khan, she said," the reasons for fuel subsidy and its economic effect is regressive". Can we agree to this quote? Well, this question shall be answered in the course of this educating debate.

The chairman, independent judges, great coordinators, fellow debaters of high intellectual quotient, and the ever-following audience, I extend my humble greetings to you all. I am betacitizen, the second representative of Yaba College of Technology, Yabatech. The topic before me says as quoted, "Is the removal of fuel subsidy justified in Nigeria?". I debate to support the notion by saying "yes".

According to Collins Dictionary of Economics, subsidy is the money paid by the government in order to help an industry or business, or to pay for public service. So, fuel subsidy is the monetary supports rendered by the government in order to pay oil marketers so as to reduce the amount of money paid by the public for the purchase of fuel or petroleum-related products.

It is an undeniable fact that the payment of fuel subsidy has in recent years brought nothing but an untold economic hardship and adversity into our dear nation. How can we best describe a situation where about 20% of our national budget goes into the hands of a few "cabal", leaving the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer? The poor masses are really the ones who suffer the economic devastating effect of the fuel subsidy. For example, the money that is supposed to be channeled towards educational development, improvement of health system, and drastic development of infrastructural facilities is used to pay for the scam called subsidy. All these are less of a burden to the rich because their children hardly school in Nigeria, and they merely use those "general" hospitals, so, the poor masses suffer more.

In general perspective, the removal of fuel subsidy is a necessary economic austerity that must be given a consideration in the country in order to put us on our toes as a nation. Continuous payment of fuel subsidy will only increase our level of dependency on oil importation rather than look inwards on revamping our "dying" or "dead" refineries. But in actual sense, at this period when the price of oil has drastically fallen in the global market, Nigerians will hardly feel any sharp increase in petroleum pump price or direct increase in the prices of goods and services as witnessed in the previous administration. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) also gave credence to this through her leading Economist, Mr. Litwack, by telling President Muhammadu Buhari that the best time to remove fuel subsidy is now.

In addition, the removal of fuel subsidy will also enable the government to create room for diversification of the economy which is a very important recipe for the growth and development of a developing country like Nigeria. According to the Nations Encyclopedia, the agricultural sector alone has the tendency to employ 70% of the country's labour force. This will not only put food on the table of the common man, but will also bring about a boost in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Furthermore, a flashback to the administration of former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan shows a genuine beauty in the removal fuel subsidy through the introduction of the Subsidy Re-investment Program (SURE-P), but if not for the fact that the whole process was battered by the high rate of corruption and favoritism in selecting those who benefit from it, the program would have been the best thing that would have happen to Nigeria. Now, the question is, will the same issue of corruption and mismanagement not resurface in the present day government as fuel subsidy is removed? No, because there is a huge sign of seriousness in the way the government is tackling corruption, therefore, corruption will not be a hindrance.

In comparison, a glance through the world to examine or view countries which have already followed the trend as far as the removal of fuel subsidy is concerned will definitely be enough to convince any right-thinking Nigerian that the action taken by the government to remove subsidy is indeed a justified one. Developed and developing countries like India, the United Arab Emirates, Cameroun, Egypt, and Ghana have already followed suit.

In conclusion, I fervently believe in the mantra which says, “Rome was not built in a day". So, if we must truly build a Nigeria that is even better than the ironic Rome, the removal of fuel subsidy is the first step in the right direction, therefore, it is definitely justified. Thanks.

Reference:

Razar Khan on fuel subsidy
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/khan-nigerias-fuel-subsidy-policy-is-regressive/209142/

Definition of subsidy
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/subsidy?showCookiePolicy=true

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Nigeria-AGRICULTURE.html

Percentage of Nigeria's budget on fuel subsidy
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/why-fuel-subsidy-must-go-2/

World Bank tells Buhari to remove fuel subsidy
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/194818-fuel-subsidy-removal-now-is-best-time-to-act-world-bank-tells-buhari.html

obiZEAL:
.

Thank you for correcting that....

Menzo4u, Betacitizen, noskyboy, obiZEAL

Very prompt, I like.

Kindly go through your opponent's essay for rebuttals.

Rebuttals begins by 7:30pm.

7:00 - 7:30 -- Debaters post their arguments within 30 minutes, maximum word limit is 1000

Sequel to the above Unijos speaker can you post your argument.

ObiZEAL
Noskyboy

Fynestboi:




Thank you for correcting that....

can unijos post now?

Good evening noble organizers and moderators of this debate, respected judges, co-debaters and all nairalanders. I am noskyboy, representing the University of JOS. Before delving into defending our position on this topic, I would like to create a background understanding on the key concepts and issues involved.
Subsidy in general terms is a form of financial aid or support provided mostly by the government to an economic sector, institution, business or individual. Therefore it is a measure adopted by certain governments to keep the price consumers pay for certain good or service below market levels; in other cases it may be directed towards producers to reduce cost of production.
Nigeria is one of the largest producers and exporters of crude oil, but she imports majority of the refined petroleum products consumed by Nigerians, mainly because of her inability to refine her own crude oil due to breakdown of its refineries due to lack of maintenance and mismanagement. From the 1980s to late 2015 premium motor spirit (PMS) or fuel was subsidized by the government in order to stabilize and reduce the price burden of the product on Nigerians, as such the government paid importers of petroleum products part of the money spent on importing the product, this is in order to aid even the poorest of Nigerians access fuel, The current administration has announced the removal of fuel subsidy, thereby leaving Nigerians to bear all the burden of purchasing this essential product. The question therefore remains can the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria be justified?
My answer is NO. In order to back my position, I would start by discrediting the reasons the government has provided for this act. In 2012 the administration of Goodluck Jonathan attempted a total removal of fuel subsidy claiming that a “cabal” is benefiting from fuel subsidy rather than Nigerians and also fuel subsidy is too expensive for the government, therefore fuel subsidy should be removed. The current administration is also singing same tune as their reason for removal of fuel subsidy, according to Kachikwu the minister of state for petroleum “we can’t even understand where those subsidies were going to. There are a lot of fraud elements in it so we need to cut it off” he also said that the earnings of the government have dropped due to fall in oil price, he proposed a price modulation scheme which would keep fuel prices below the current #85 per liter, despite removal of subsidy.
The above reasons provided, can in no way justify removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria, because firstly; it is the duty of the government to make sure all ‘fraud elements’ are removed and the gains of the subsidy reach Nigerians, does it mean that a group of individuals are bigger than the government?, should Nigerians be left at the mercy of exploitative capitalists?.
Secondly; Nigeria is rich enough to subsidize fuel and still improve critical infrastructure and fund other developmental projects, but this is not the case mainly because of mismanagement, too much economic loop holes, policies that encourage wastage, extravagant spending on salaries and allowances of executives and legislators, embezzlement of public funds due to corruption; according to transparency international (2015), Nigeria has lost over $400 billion to corruption. Also states don’t look inwards to focus on agriculture and other natural resources and they don’t generate internal revenue, but rely on federal government. If these things are fixed, there won’t be need to remove subsidy.
Thirdly; the price of an important commodity like PMS should never be left to be determined by market forces (demand and supply) in a developing economy like that of Nigeria, because only the close friends of the government and the rich can afford licenses to run refineries or import fuel, therefore there won’t be competition and poor Nigerians would be placed in the hands of a few capitalists who are profit hungry. The price modulation scheme is just an opportunist and escapist solution, because it coincides with a period of global oil price fall, therefore Nigerians won’t feel the pinch now, but when prices go up again, Nigerians would be paying high, therefore such scheme is not sustainable on the long run.
Furthermore, Fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria cannot be economically, sociologically and even politically justified;
Economically; the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria cannot be justified, because such decision would have an adverse multiplier effect on the economy on a long run, it will lead to the increase in prices of everything, from transportation to cost of running businesses especially small businesses which would increase prices of food and other services and goods.
Sociologically; the structure of Nigeria is one characterized by wide spread poverty, social inequality and corruption in government, the question is, how sure are we that the government would reinvest the subsidy for the development of Nigeria? Past records have pointed otherwise. Therefore removing the only sure social service, Nigerians get from government is an anti-social welfare move; because education, security, clean water, stable power supply and food are things the government doesn’t provide for Nigerians, as such the rich and political class rather gets more to steal from and the poor are left un-catered for.
Politically; Nigeria is a democratic state, this means the people are the center of the government, and their will should be done. Removal and attempt to remove fuel subsidy has been met with disapproval and street protests in the past. Some Nigerians have recently used social media to register their dismay, also the NLC recently condemned such move, therefore it is politically un-justifiable to remove fuel subsidy in Nigeria amidst such disapproval.
In conclusion, Nigerians may not be feeling the full adverse effects of the fuel subsidy removal at the moment, due to global fall in oil price but when the prices eventually go up again Nigerians would be left to suffer with no visible palliative measures in place to ensure soft landing.
Word count: 990
References
Akinwale Y et al. 2012. Political economy of phasing out fuel subsidy in Nigeria. Scientific and academic publishing retrieved from http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ep.20130304.01.html
http://scannewsnigeria.com/featured-post/nigeria-has-lost-over-400billion-oil-revenue-since-independence-says-ezekwesili/
Moyo N and Songwe V. 2012. Removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria an economic necessity and a political dilemma. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/01/10-fuel-subsidies-nigeria-songwe
Nigeria: fuel subsidy: A desktop study by the center for public policy alternatives. Retrieved from https://toluogunlesi.files./2012/01/fuel-subsidy-desktop-study-report-copy1.pdf
Premium times report, December 26, 2015 - Nigeria scraps fuel subsidy, cuts petrol price to N85 per litre. Retrieved from http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/195743-nigeria-scraps-fuel-subsidy-cuts-petrol-price-to-n85-per-litre.html
Nigeria: benefits and risks of fuel price modulation. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201601042261.html

ObiZEAL,

You can drop your essay now