[size=14pt]WELCOME![/size]

We are now in the quarter stage finals of NISD, third edition.

Thus far, for me, it has been quite an enlightening ride, and I trust it has been that and much more for you.

This edition started with 25 schools contending, and then it moved all the way down to 16 schools (elimination stage) and now, we have 8 schools standing tall for the quarter finals -- this stage will in turn also pave way to 4 schools for the next stage of the competition.

If you ask me what I think about the competition at this point, I'll say, indeed, as the race gets more interesting and competitive towards the finals, we are getting closer to having our winner emerge, but, which of these citadels will it be? All I see is each team stepping their game up towards outdoing the other at every stage of this competition, hence making it quite difficult to hatch a guess, well, a good fighting spirit they all exhibit I must say.


But no hard feelings debaters, I mean we love you all but a winner has got to emerge.


That said, let us now proceed to the battle of the day.


[size=14pt]Yes,


it is


The Quarter Finals' Opening Battle![/size]





All debaters, judges and coordinators should kindly take note that the debate rules, procedures and modalities still stands, do well to abide by them.



Thank you.

Topic: [size=14pt]The Extinction Of Godfatherism In Contemporary Nigerian Politics -- A panacea for effective leaders.[/size]

Supporting:



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.

Vice-chancellor: Professor Hayward Babale Mafuyai
Motto: Discipline and Dedication


Meet the Unijosites debaters.

► Noskyboy
► ObiZeal

---

Opposing:

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1403613_abulogo_jpeg76ff220cc807e4d2031970f376113b54

Ahmadu Bello University popularly known as ABU is a Federal Government Research University located in Zaria, Kaduna State. ABU was founded on October 4, 1962, as the University of Northern Nigeria. The University is named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first premier of Northern Nigeria. The school has a slogan that says “ABU naturally ahead of you”.

The Vice Chancellor is Professor Ibrahim Garba

Her philosophy - “The first duty of every University is the search for and the spread of knowledge and the establishment of the nation."

I give to you the ABU debaters:

►Catalyst4real
► Abuklaw

Date: 27th February 2016 

Time: 7pm




I remain Luxanne, the coordinator for this team.

And the judges with me are,

HerexG

Adeaks

Joseph1832


I greet you Sirs

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

PROCEDURES

6:55 -- Debaters (Noskyboy, ObiZeal, Catalyst4real, Abuklaw) and judges (Jarus, Adeaks, Joseph1832) registers 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.

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..

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




Let us all kindly comply, as defaulters might attract a 3 hours ban (duration of the debate).




You can however comment simultaneously at the planning thread.


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




Thank you.

All protocols noted.

present

5:55 -- Debaters (Noskyboy, ObiZeal, Catalyst4real, Abuklaw) and judges (Jarus, Adeaks, Joseph1832) registers presence

Does Godfatherism really poses any threat to an effective leader?

I have seen people gathered at newspaper stand discussing the effect of Godfatherism, read people’s comment on social media, and notice the increasing public opinion on the negative effect of Godfatherism. I have nevertheless, tried to educate people on the subject matter and at the same time enlighten them on the real bane to effective leadership in Nigeria political sphere.

Before I become carried away in my quest to make the audience, Judges and co-debaters reason with me, I won’t fail to acknowledge the indispensable personalities oiling the machine of this intellectual tussle.

Mr. Seun Osewa, the untiring and ever-industrious organizers, the perspicacious and sagacious panel of Judges, readers and followers of this invaluable initiative. I am saying good day as usual.

My monicker is Abuklaw, representing the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. I will be employing this medium to elucidate the reasons why Godfatherism plays no role in whatever means in the inefficiency of our leaders, how the rot in our political circle should not be attributed to Godfatherism.

Owing to the fact some people might be coming across the subject for the first time, it is pertinent to briefly expound the key terms.

Godfatherism is a symbiotic relationship between two persons namely; the godfather and the godson, where the godfather uses his political connection to secure political position for the godson, who upon ascension into power pays gratification to his godfather in kind or cash.
Effective leaders are those that deliver value to those whom they are accountable to. In this case, the electorate.

The question I often ask is, can something that was never the source of a problem be pointed out as the solution to such problem if removed? No! You said. But why do we continue to practise psychological defense mechanism known as “distortion” to evade the modern day realities of what is expected of effective leaders? Why do we choose to rationalise the inefficiency of our rulers under the guise of godfatherism? Many questions you queried!

I am glad to inform you now, that henceforth, you will know what yardstick to employ when evaluating our current and potential leaders. You would agree with on the long run that godfatherism poses no threat to effective leaders if the below qualities are present in our leaders.
A leader must have a genuine reason to serve others; putting service ahead of self-interest. It is a known fact that any leader who truly want to serve his people won’t succumb to the selfish request of his godfather in whatever respect if the interest of the masses is at stake. Absence of this important quality in our leader is the problem not godfatherism. Sen. Rashidi Ladoja, former Governor of Oyo state refuse to compromise when the Late Lamidi Adedibu demanded the sharing of security votes that belong to the whole state. This honourable act endears him to majority of the electorate in Oyo state till today.

Another bane of effective leaders is lack of accountability and integrity in both actions and word. The democracy that we adopt in Nigeria is one that gives sovereign power to the electorate not godfathers. Political office holder should be solely accountable to the electorate. An effective leader that is accountable, poses high degree of integrity would never allow the selfish interest of godfather to prevail over the collective national interest.

Lack of vision, purpose and mission is the problem of our leaders not godfatherism. Many at times, people seek leadership position for the purpose of fame, money, and the likes. Purpose and vision show a leader what direction is meant to go in life. Effective leaders believe they are on earth to do something important for humanity and won’t allow godfathers or godfatherism to deter them from achieving their goal.
There are so many qualities that make an effective leader which godaftherism can’t thwart. But apparently, our leaders are lacking those paramount characteristics. We have breed of leaders without vision, leaders without the courage to do the right thing. We are being ruled by people who place self-interest above national interest.

Moreover, godfatherism should not be seen as anti-progress or anti-development. It is indeed, healthy to the development of a nation with purpose. Late Obafemi Awolowo, Late Ahmadu Bello, Late Nnamdi Azikwe were godfathers that used their influence to seek the progress of the geographical entity we are occupying today. These past and unforgettable leaders influenced and controlled political activities in the country through a version of godfatherism known as “ideological godfatherism.” Albert (2005) opined that from the First Republic (1960-1966) to the Second Republic (1978-1983), the practice of godfatherism was guided by the selfless service to the community.

Our pious godfathers supported and nurtured their godsons positively not negatively. Their emphasis was on developmental issue. They did not demand pound of flesh from their adopted godsons. These godfathers of blessed memory motivated their adopted sons to higher levels of political morality and made it necessary for them to be accountable to those who voted them into office.

I will encapsulate here, that the extinction of godfatherism won’t solve the problem of ineffective leadership in Nigeria when our leaders lack character, vision, accountability, integrity and selflessness. It is actually one of the tools we can use to make effective leaders if rightly practised.

References
Albert, O., 2005 “explaining ‘godfatherism’ in Nigeria Politics”, African sociological review.

Henry S. Givray. 12 Distinguishing Qualities that Define True Leaders. Retrieved @ www.smithbucklin.com.

Myles Munroe (2014). The power of character in leadership. Whitaker house. New Kensington. USA.

[size=18pt]Topic: The Extinction Of Godfatherism In Contemporary Nigerian Politics -- A panacea for effective leaders.[/size]

present

Present.

6:00 – The organizer, Fynestboi declares the debate open





Without wasting much time, the quarter final match for Nairaland Interschool debate third edition is hereby declare open...

Present

6:00 - 6:30 -- Debaters post their arguments within 30 minutes, maximum word limit is 1000




Debaters please post your argument.


Abuklaw
Catalyst4real
ObiZEAL
Noskyboy




You have just 30 mins and your time starts now...

joseph1832:
Present.

Welcome sir...

A good evening to the able moderators and organizers, my fellow debaters and all Nairalanders, I am NOSKYBOY, representing the great students of university of Jos.
Many would agree that the major problem facing Nigeria from its inception till this date is poor leadership at almost every level of government, a lot of factors have been pointed to as the reason for the leadership problems of Nigeria, but only few have come to the realization that the major problem facing quality leadership in Nigeria is the disease called “godfatherism” and once it is eliminated Nigerians can be assured that a generation of great leaders would emerge. Before I go further to prove why godfatheriam must be eliminated in Nigeria, if she must develop, I would first of all create a background understanding of the issues at hand pertaining to this discussion.
The concept “god father” mean different things to different people, but the most popular origin of the concept can be traced to a practice by the Catholic church, where a person not the biological father of a child would agree to be a mentor to the child known as the godson, guiding him in the right path and supporting him in achieving his goals. Godfather, as a concept has gained ground in politics around the world and it is usually used to mean an individual who supports the political ambition of another person, this support may come in many forms but mostly it comes in the form of finance and the use of influence and “connection”. The godfathers usually expects some form of payback when success is achieved. In Nigerian politics, godfatherism is a very common practice majority of the politicians in Nigeria have a godfather of some sort, some known and others not known. This statement is true and various cases exits to prove it such as the case of former governor chimaroke Nnamani and Jim Nwobodo, senator Jonah Jang and late sen GNS Pwajor, Ngige and Chris Uba, also, it can’t be denied that Tinubu contributed greatly to the emergence of Buhari as president, such cases proves the existence of godfatherism in Nigeria.
The major question however is what good do godfatherism hold for Nigeria, with regards to good leadership and development? The answer with seek is simple, godfatherism has done more harm than good to leadership in Nigeria, and the reasons being;
Godfatherism in Nigeria is a medium for investment rather mentorship. In the real sense, godfathers are meant to serve as mentors, advice and guide their godsons in the right way to lead, but the case in Nigeria is different, the idea and orientation behind godfatherism is totally different. Godfathers rather expect to be paid back for their support once success is achieved; therefore most rich and influential Nigerians see a less influential, less wealthy and willing leadership aspirant, as a business investment and profit making opportunity. Therefore, when a less wealthy individual is financially supported to win an election, he pays back with the state funds; therefore the effect on the country is never good. The refusal of the godson to obey the godfather is also another source of problem for the country, simply because the leaders loses focus and the godfather is likely to embark on a mission to sabotage the godson leading to backward development of Nigeria, the case of the former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu, who had a running battle with his godfather, Senator Jim Nwobo, for over two years, infact Nnamani himself described a godfather as “…an impervious guardian figure who provided the lifeline and direction to the godson, perceived to live a life of total submission, subservience and protection of the oracular personality located in the large, material frame of opulence, affluence and decisiveness, that is, if not ruthless... strictly, the godfather is simply a self-seeking individual out there to use the government for his own purposes.
Another reason is that, leaders loss their autonomy and personal initiative to lead and control resources of the state; this is a negative attribute of godfatherism in Nigeria because in most cases the godfathers like to dictate how the godson would lead, who would be appointed and even how public funds would be spent, therefore even if the leaders has all the criteria of a good leader, he/she can’t use them, such cases can be seen in Nigeria especially when it comes to appointment, the godfather decides who would be appointed, the case of president Buhari and the ministerial appointment saga is a clear indication of this fact, the appointment of Amaechi, Fashola and the likes is simply a compensation for their support and also the invisible hand of Tinubu was noticed through the whole process.
Godfatherism has made it almost impossible for qualified and credible individuals without “connection” to emerge as leaders, rather individuals who are loyal and easily manipulated emerge as leaders therefore giving the godfather control and serving as a mare figure head. The concept of “connection” is not new to Nigerians, and those who are likely to be connected to rich godfathers are members of the upper class, therefore the chances of poor lower class occupant with great leadership skills who knows what the majority of poor Nigerians really need is likely never going to emerge as a leader.
To conclude, I would say that, the trend in Nigeria is that, most godfathers are usually past leaders and individuals who have served the country in various capacities and during their time they weren’t good leaders, these people are expected to groom their godsons to be like them therefore what we get at the end is duplication of incompetence in the name of godfatherism. If Nigeria must develop, god leaders must emerge and for good leaders to emerge the foundational problem of godfatherism must be eliminated, and only then would Nigeria get credible leaders, until then we would continue running in a circle of underdevelopment due to poor leadership.

References
Chimaroke Nnamani, ‘The godfather phenomenon in democratic Nigeria: Silicon
or real?’, The Source, 2 June, 2003 pp. 5-6.
Chris Ngige, ‘My problem with Uba’, Tell, 28 July, 2003, p. 42.
http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/danjuma-tinubu-to-determine-buharis-ministers/

‘The Godfa thers list’, Newsweek, December 2003-February 2004, p.56.

Fynestboi do we wait for Unijos to finish posting their debate before posting ours?

Catalyst4real:
Fynestboi do we wait for Unijos to finish posting their debate before posting ours?

Go ahead...

It was Abraham Lincoln who defined democracy as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Many scholars have opined that democracy is the best form of government, I can't agree less since democracy is being practiced by about 153 countries in the world, including world powers like United states of America, France, Russia. However, over here in Nigeria we have been practicing democracy for 17 years now, but we have not seen effective leaders who will provide the dividends of democracy to Nigerians. The reason for this unfortunate situation is not far-fetched; it is Political Godfatherism that has made our leaders ineffective and our democracy inefficient. Hence the extinction of political Godfatherism in contemporary Nigerian politics is the panacea to producing effective leaders and ensuring efficient leadership


Good evening respectable judges, hardworking coordinators, my fellow opponents and all Nairaland intelligentsia following this debate. As always, my profound appreciation goes to Mr. Seun Osewa for the platform and opportunity to engage our contemporaries in this intellectual tussle.
My name is obiZEAL and I am representing the distinguished students of University of Jos, I and my colleague are supporting the motion which says; the extinction of Godfatherism in contemporary Nigerian politics; A panacea for effective leaders.


I will start my first argument by giving a succinct definition of godfather and Godfatherism;
In Christendom, a godfather is defined as a man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner and is responsible for the child’s spiritual needs and growth.
Godfatherism on the other hand, is the relationship that exists between the godfather and the child. In the Nigerian politicosphere, Godfatherism have been bastardized and eroded of its actual meaning. The best definition of the Godfatherism being practiced in Nigeria’s political arena is as defined by one of Nigeria's renowned novelist and poet, Chinua Achebe, he defined Godfatherism as ''an archaic, corrupt practice in which individuals with lots of money and time to spare (many of them half-baked, poorly educated thugs) sponsor their chosen candidates and push them right through to the desired political position, bribing, threatening, and, on occasion, murdering any opposition in the process. Needless to say, anybody brought into any leadership position through any such means that undermines democracy in a democratic country cannot make an effective leader. Deep study of the definition provided by Chinua Achebe will show that not only does political Godfatherism sabotage democracy, it also disqualifies honorable men who almost always make effective leaders. No man of good moral standing will take part is such a process, when upright men rejects Godfatherism and its antecedents, all that will be left are men who will fall for anything, and with the influence of their godfather, these morally bankrupt men make it to the position of power, and as expected, they will constitute ineffective leaders.


Secondly, if Godfatherism was an illness one of its symptoms will be corruption, and like all diseases if left untreated will lead to death, but in this case, it will lead to death of effective leadership. In Nigerian politics, Godfatherism goes beyond the electioneering process, godson's are expected to show unwavering loyalty to their godfathers throughout their tenure. These loyalty has no definition nor limit, the godfather is at liberty to decides who gets what, he decides who is innocent and who is guilty, in some cases the godson even go as far as diverting the finance of his office to the pocket of the godfather and his cronies under the guise of phantom projects and contracts. These acts of nepotism, selective justice and financial mismanagement are all features of an ineffective leader, they are acts of corruption which blossoms under Godfatherism.
My opponents might want to argue that godfathers only play a financial or advisory role, but we are all aware of the common Nigerian idiom; nothing goes for nothing, it is he who plays the drum that dictates the dance moves.



I will end with giving a short account of Godfatherism gone wrong and how it has rendered leadership ineffective; Chief Chris Ubah and Chris Ngige of Anambara state, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu and Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo state, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of kano state, Senator Modu Ali sheriff and Governor Mala Kachalla of Borno State, Senator Jim Nwobodo and Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Sir Emeka Offor and Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambara state. These names are synonymous to Godfatherism in Nigerian politics, the events that took place in each of the situation is unique, but all the situation occurred by the same mechanism; a disagreement between a Godfather and a Godson which yielded anarchy in the affected states.
To prove my point, I will do a brief run-down of the events that took place in Anambra state, one of the states that have had its own fair share of ineffective leadership which stemmed from Godfatherism, During the 1999 election, Sir Emeka Offor played the role of Governor Mbadinuju’s godfather and elevated him into office, after a brief period of Mbadinuju’s rule, he incurred the wrath of his Godfather for not ‘playing by the rules’ and as expected a political battle ensued between the erstwhile Godfather and the state Governor, during that period, workers salaries where owed for months, state institutions went on strike, and all the trappings of a failed leadership was in full display, consequently the governor was given an Ultimatum to resign or put the state in order.
The events that occurred in Anambra state have repeated itself in various levels of leadership in our country Nigeria, hence our slowed level of development.
It is for the reasons given above and many more that I stand to say that the extinction of Godfatherism in contemporary Nigerian politics is the panacea for engendering effective leadership.




REFERENCES
A short definition of democracy
http:www.democracy-building.info/definition-democracy.html

Which countries are democratic as at April 2015
http:www.quora.com/Which-countries-are-democratic-countries-as-of-April-2015-and-which are democratic-in-name-only

There Was A Country A Personal History of Biafra; Chinua Achebe, 2012. ISBN:978-1-846-14792-0

Politics and political Godfatherism by Samuel Uwhejevwe-Togbolo
http:www.gamji.com/article4000/NEWS4468.htm

Criminal Politics: violence, “Godfathers” and Curruption in Nigeria: Case Study B: Anambra State
https://www.hrw.org/reporths/2007/nigeria1007/8.htm