Good day Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is the best debaters' essay thread where we celebrate debaters with the highest scores after each stage of the competition.

But first let us refresh your memory with the previous best.

For the quarter finals, we had the following:

3. Aysuccess99 - 70%

2. OAUTemitayo - 75%

1. Emaculate99 - 80% (The highest and best score of them all)

---

The Elimination stage,

3. OAUTemitayo - 74%

2. Abuklaw - 75%

1. ObiZEAL - 78.8%

---

And the essay submission stage,

3. Sammyscholar - 42%

2. OAUTemitayo and Menzo4u - 43%

1. Abuklaw - 47%

---

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

1. Djhack1

2. Catalyst4real
 
3. Eduntee 

4. LARRYDKING

5. Penplayer

And now, to the just concluded semi finals we have,

from the third spot, the list is going to be done in a descending order and most importantly, according to the scores collated by their officiating Judges.


So here goes,


Taking the third spot, we have from the Lagos State University, Horlapelumi with 76%.


Congratulations Sir

---

To the second spot, with a 1% variance away from the third spot, the debater with the highest best score so far, and from Obafemi Awolowo University, we have Emaculate99 with 77%.


Congratulations Sir

---

And now to the last man standing, one who has been present in all rounds of our best debaters' essay thread the one who has finally, finally fought his way bravely to the first spot with just a 1% variance away from the second spot and a 2% variance away from the third spot,


He's no other than,




with 78%,



from the school with the motto - “For learning and culture ”



I present to you, from Obafemi Awolowo University , our very own,



OAUTemitayo



A Hearty Congratulation Sir



Wow, you will agree with me that Team OAU got this semi final round of NISD, but will they be able to hold the spot down through the finals of this great competition or will it be taken by Team Unilorin, the school they will be contending with during the finals?

Well, it's just a matter of time and we shall surely find out then. You just stay following

---

However, we shall not fail to also give honorary mentions to the following debaters present during the semi finals:

1. Temidelaw - 73%

2. Neyoor - 71%

3. Catalyst4real - 69%

Well done Sirs, we do appreciate you all



The Best Essays for the Semi Final round comes next...

TOPIC: 1914 Amalgamation - A Historical
Mistake?

Stance: Opposing


LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY..

horlapelumi:
One love, one heart . .
Let’s get together and feel all right
I once argued that Lord Lugard wrote that lyrics, not because I don’t know Bob Marley but because he took an action in 1914 and the result as well as the reason were sum up in those lyrics.
Greetings moderators, distinguish adjudicators, fellow rational thinkers and amiable Nairalanders. I am horlapelumi of Lagos State University. I hope we can have a long and happy relationship together as I tend to have difficulty with small talk, so let's get to the chase while we debate about the glorious call of 1914 among a group of people called the giant of Africa; ‘THE ALMAGATION OF NIGERIA’ through this beautiful platform NAIRALAND which no reasonable man would call a ‘mistake’. I stand to oppose the motion “Amalgamation of 1914, Historical Mistake”.
To amalgamate means to unite, combine or blend. It is an act or process in which two or more things fuse together to form a new potent thing. Amalgamation results in the formation of a new (separate) company which has a unique name, identity and existence. In this light, amalgamation is the creation of a new state by the coming together of two or more states. Popular example is the joining together of the Northern and Southern protectorate to form a NIGERIA.
It is assumed by progressive historians that the amalgamation was to provide good administration and encourage internal trade throughout the country of diverse nations and a large market. Indeed, the post amalgamation period witnessed movements of people throughout the country with heavier traffic towards the North. There was also expanded trade culminating in the movement of goods from south to north and north to south, for instance, activities at the popular Onitsha market.
It is important to note that, before the invasion by the British, many empires within the Nigerian territory had made spirited efforts to unify the various tribes within West Africa. The Oyo Empire was known to have extended its empire up north towards Niger republic and deep west into Dahomey. The Fulani Empire was also known to have made spirited efforts to conquer and unify various tribes in Nigeria during the pre-colonial days. All these goes to say that there was a pre-colonial effort to unify the various tribes in Nigeria, the British only helped in speeding up the process. Should we then call such a generous act a mistake?
It is interesting to know that many of the proponents of ‘Nigeria amalgamation a curse’ are of the opinion that Nigerian people are different in every way including religion, custom, language and aspiration, In fact that we`re all Africans might have misguided the British Government but they fail to realise that; We are all equal in the fact that we are all different. We are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same. We are united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct & individual. We are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. We don't share blood, but we share the air that keeps us alive. I will not blind myself and say that my black brother or brown sister is not different from me. But my brother or sister is as much as I am me. If we can’t survive with others, how we survive with ourselves.
I will like to avert our mind to certain incidents that happened after the union of 1914. History has it that after the amalgamation of 1914 Politically and economically, things appeared normal until the introduction of the Legislative Council which brought together representatives from the north and the southern parts of the country and months after this the late Prime Minister of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was reported in 1952 in a speech in the Northern House of Assembly, Kaduna, that `the Southern people who are swarming into this region daily in large numbers are really intruder. This establish the fact that, amalgamation was never the problem; issues plaguing the country range from leadership to ethnic and religious jingoism which some leaders deliberately played up to further divide the country. Is it not amazing how the incompetence of the present leaders could be blamed on events which happened about one hundred years ago? Many still relates fault from those halcyon days of British political ingenuity of 1914 to the present turbulent period of insurgency in the North, kidnapping and robberies in the South and deepening poverty all over the country when events have changed dramatically leaving vestiges of political bitterness, ethnic terrorism and religious intolerance.
There are claims and even confessions that the amalgamation was for the economic interest of the British, oh no! It was not only for their interest as it turns out to be a blessing to the amalgamated, take for instance, the first motion for Independence was moved in 1953, years after the amalgamation and in togetherness despite northern objection at first, the course was pursued and achieved. At independence, we inherited a nation built on unity in diversity, peace, freedom and justice and a national anthem that emphasised that unity, irrespective of our complexities. The first stanza of that sacred song, “Nigeria we hail thee” was formulated to reflect good virtues and ideals, our shared values. It was a national hymn we all felt proud to sing as children and adults. It’s scintillating lyrics and captivating wording inspired in every Nigeria, the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. Then we became so unfaithful with ourselves, faulting the force that brought us together, seeking independence out of independence as in the case of the Biafrans.
After 100 years, we had oracles of the British from Nigeria saying amidst other things that Nigeria was built to last for 100 years only and we can’t survive beyond that. Distinguish judges, adjudicators and my ever attentive audience, such arguments shows no respect for common sense, conclusively, because OUR AMALGAMATION IS NOT A MISTAKE, OUR AMALGAMATION IS UNIQUE BECAUSE DESPERATE UNITS WERE MERGED TOGETHER AND WE ARE STILL TOGETHER even after 100 years!







REFERENCES
• https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/unity
• http://kalyan-city..com.ng/2012/04/what-is-amalgamation-definition-meaning.html
•http://www.myfinancialintelligence.com/content/amalgamation-1914-was-it-mistake#sthash.th8NYYIM.dpuf
• http://www.mynewswatchtimesng.com/aliyu-harps-benefits-1914-amalgamation/
AMALGAMATION OF 1914: Was it a mistake?
• http://saharareporters.com/2014/03/10/1914-amalgamation-mistake-or-blessing-onyiorah-chiduluemije-paschal
• https://www.nairaland.com/1081002/1914-amalgamation-historical-mistake-nairaland
• https://www.nairaland.com/1202792/document-nigerias-amalgamation-1914-picture
• http://www.famous-quotes.com/topic.php?tid=1256

Second Spot...

Topic: 1914 Amalgamation - A Historical
Mistake?

Stance: Supporting

OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY..

[img]http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/1403632_oau-logo_jpegfd792ca2348535d7a50271d82c1b576d[/img]

emaculate99:
“The southern Nigerians who are swarming into this region daily in large number are really intruders… they are not welcomed here in the North. Since the amalgamation in 1914, the British has been trying to make Nigeria one country, but the Nigerian people are different in every way including religion… We here in North, take it that Nigeria’s unity is not for us.” – Tafawa Balewa.

“The mistake of 1914 has come to light” – the Sardauna of Sokoto.

“Nigeria is not a nation, it is a mere geographical expression … to which life was given by the diabolic amalgamation of 1914, that amalgamation will ever remain the most painful injury inflicted on the Southern Nigeria.” – Obafemi Awolowo.

Standing on the already established protocol, I am Emaculate Ife representing OAU. I write to support the motion which states: “1914 Amalgamation – a historical mistake?” Before I continue, let me represent the issue of 1914 amalgamation with this:

In plastic industry, thermoset plastics are made in such a way that a very high temperature is needed to cure them. If there is any mistake, reheating it will make binding impossible because its chemical makeup necessary for binding will be decomposed. The manufacturer has no other option than to completely break the defective product up.

Historically, the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria stemmed out from the 1884/85 scramble of Africa which took no recourse for the interest of the people in the communities that were being shared. The location which happened to be the present day Nigeria was the portion given to Britain and which was enclosed by the portion given to France. France unlike Britain, thought of the people to some extent and chose not to amalgamate the communities in the said portion. With lack of knowledge of the people in the communities, the British joined them together to aid administrative convenience and economic purposes. But should administrative convenience and economic purpose be greater than people’s interest?

As citizens of a colonised country, we were merely the slaves of the colonialists who had to do what our masters said. Should we still allow ourselves to be controlled by the slave masters’ unfavourable structure even after getting our independence from the slave masters? Amalgamation is something of the colonialists who without recourse for us joined us (who are incompatible) together and impliedly charged us to live together as one for their economic purpose. Should we still continue to live under a unification which was consummated, without consultation, purely for the colonialists’ economic purpose rather than our own interest? I doubt it.

Moreover, the mistake of the 1914 amalgamation has been expressed by eminent personalities like Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa and a host of others and have been put into action by the Biafrans in 1967 and recently. These eminent personalities had more experience about Nigeria as a whole so they understood perfectly what they said. Also, the previous and current protest for Biafra state stem out from amalgamation. Without amalgamation, there will be no civil war that led to the death of millions of people, malnourishment and deprivation of human rights.

Furthermore, it has been noted by UNESCO that “… no single type of foreign university can in itself, meet the aspirations of the African people for social and economic development.” That means people who school in foreign university cannot meet the aspiration of the African for social and economic development. Lord Lugard schooled at a foreign university. Therefore, Lord Luggard cannot give a policy that will meet the aspirations of African for social and economic development without it failing in these aspects.

Although, every Nigerian regards himself as a Nigerian but tribalism has put the status ‘Nigerian’ into a state of oblivion. When it comes to issues affecting one’s tribe/ethnic, the status ‘Nigeria', will be thrown into dustbin and each will declare their allegiance for their tribe/ethnic. This sometime leads to bloodshed. An example is the recent tribal fight at Mile 12 between Hausa and Yoruba.

Come to think of it, if the 1914 amalgamation is not a mistake, then people should take themselves as Nigerians and not the other way round. Provided by Nigerian constitution, any person who is a Nigerian by birth can contest as the governor of Nigeria provided that S182 of the constitution does not apply to him, but can an Igbo contest as the governor of Lagos without being told the history of his life that Lagos state belongs to the Yoruba (West) and not any other part of Nigeria? Nigeria and not the people is amalgamated.

Consequently, the country was designed during amalgamation to give more powers to the Northern part of Nigeria who are not educated in the western way as a result of the British policy that ousted their western education in order to curtail them from being as intellectual as Indian Muslims. In a bid to strengthen their (British) control over the whole country, more powers were given to the North and were made to enjoy the dividends of amalgamation even till today at the expense of other communities, thereby leading to a violent revolt against the government. Till today, Northern Nigeria still enjoy the consolidation of powers given to them by the Europeans and this has led to unhealthy relationship among the regions making up the present day Nigeria. This was further confirmed by the words of Sir Ahmadu Bello who said that “the new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather, Othman Dan Fodio, we must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the south as conquered territories and never allowed them to rule over us … have control over their future.”

With this, the current Biafran protest and the outpour of the Hausa and Yoruba leaders, I believe, you will throw your support behind me that the 1914 amalgamation is nothing but a mistake.

REFERENCE

www.thewillnigeria.com/news/opinion-is-1914-amalgamtion-a-blessing-or-a-curse

www.myfinancialintelligence.com/content/amalgamation--1914-was-it-mistake

www.chikaforafrica.com

1999 constitution of Nigeria 2011 as amended.

FIRST SPOT...

Topic: 1914 Amalgamation - A Historical
Mistake?

Stance: Supporting.

OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY..

[img]http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/1403632_oau-logo_jpegfd792ca2348535d7a50271d82c1b576d[/img]

OAUTemitayo:
Amalgamation of Nigeria:
An Historic mistake:
Position: Support
OauTemitayo Representing OAU.

The foundation of any civil society is justice, fairness and equity.
Amalgamation is the mixture of two or more things together according to Colin's dictionary.
The amalgamation of Southern and Northern protectorate in 1914 was the height of injustice and insensitivity by the British colonialists on the right to self determination of the various ethnic groups living across the area.
Any society or country built on falsehood, deception and unwilling compulsion of several homogenous people against their will into one will fail. The balkanisation of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sudan, Pakistan and India is a pointer to this. Even advanced socities such as United Kingdom (Northern Ireland and Scotland), Spain (Catalonia and Basquets) Canada (French speaking part) are still battling with secessionist agitations as a result of lumping together people of diverse cultures and languages.
Nigeria was actually created as a company by the British as the United Africa Company to expand British business and hegemony.
According to Chief Richard Akinjide, the British amalgamated only the administration of the southern and northern protectorates of Nigeria and not the inhabiting people.
Justice demands that people should be involved in all decisions that can make or mar them now or in the future. It is a known and unarguable fact at no time did the Yorubas, Igbos, Hausas, Itsekiris and other ethnic groups sat down together to approve their forceful union.
By excluding the indigenous people from taking part in the decision that will decide their future, the British committed a deplorable crime against humanity. The amalgamation which was deliberate and calculative is today why Nigeria has refused to be a home desired by all. If the Igbos are not agitating today for Biafra, the Niger Delta would be canvassing for the control of their resources.
It is known worldwide that countries with people of the same language, culture and tradition are usually united and focused on development. The British deliberately lumped together people of diverse ethnicity, language and tradition just to serve their own administrative and financial interest.
Even British colonial officers such as the legendary Harold Smith has confessed that the amalgamation of Nigeria was wrong and unfair to some parts of Nigeria.
The amalgamation was done in such a way that a particular part of the country has some sort of political leverage over the other parts.
Such is the political leverage that issues such as expertise, qualifications and intellectual ability are being shoved aside on the basis of Federal character. A look at admission requirements for entering Nigerian universities will highlight the injustice being meted on brilliant students from certain parts of Nigeria through their disqualification not because they did not perform better than some admitted students, but because of an unfair and illogical policy called Educationally less developed states program which demands that less intelligent students be admitted before them. This injustice is not peculiar to the education sector, it is a general norm in all spheres of life in Nigeria. This has led to promotion of mediocrity over expertise in government settings and the nation as a whole. The result of the above is the failure of Nigeria to develop economically, and politically beyond the yardstick of a third world country due to the supremacy of federal character over intelligence and expertise.
Such is the flawed foundation of the country that even after over hundred years of the amalgamation, Nigeria is still battling with basic problems such as food security problems (we are still importing majority of what we are eating such as rice and others even though we have an arable land that is more than enough), inadequate power generation (despite spending over twenty trillion naira on the sector we are still generating 4000MW for a population of over 160 million when South Africa a country with half population of ours generates over 50,000MW), poor road network, poor health facilities, terrible education sector (or how do you explain students dying on the collapse of classrooms that should have been renovated) etc. This are problems synonymous with mediocrity, lack of direction, loss of sense of dignity and poor leadership born out of the apparent lopsidedness of the country structurally.
The mistrust among the over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria has led to unending ethnic clashes and the loss of millions of lives. The Nigerian civil war, Itsekiri Vs Ijaw, Fulani vs Agatu in the middle belt, Hausas vs Jos indigenes, Yoruba vs Hausa at mile 12 and many more are examples. Even our celebrated leaders such as Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikwe and Ahmadu Bello did not believe in the oness of Nigerians considering the various divisive statements credited to them.
Salient issues such as accountability and corruption cases are usually given ethnic colouration by opposing ethnic groups trying to support their kinsmen who in most cases are only using them as a means to an end.
The fact that majority of European and Asian countries are made up majorly of one ethnic group and the progress, development and peace existing in such countries when compared with the homogenous countries of Africa which have been riddled with so many problems such as ethnic wars and poor leadership points to the fact the amalgamation of several ethnic groups into one as done in Nigeria was a great mistake.
Conclusively, if after hundred years we are still battling with issues such as ethnic clashes, mistrust and basic economic problems such as food scarcity, then we need to have a rethink and accept the fact that the amalgamation of Nigeria which is the foundation of the entity called Nigeria is faulty and therefore will lead us to nowhere.

References:

Amalgamation of Nigeria
www.unitedijaw.com/amalgamation.htm
The conflict between Itsekiri and Ijaw in Warri Delta
www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad6864.html
Yoruba and Hausa clash at Mile 12
www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/03/03/five-killed-several-cars-vandalized-as-hausa-yoruba-clash-in-lagos/
Many killed as Fulani and Agatu people clash
dailypost.ng/2016/02/23/breaking-many-killed-as-suspected-fulani-herdsmen-raid-agatu-community/
The causes of Nigerian civil war
www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-were-causes-biafran-nigerian-civil-war-what-466264
Legendary Harold Smith Speaks about Nigeria
https://haroldsmithmemorial./2011/01/05/legendary-harold-smith-speaks-about-nigeria/

THIRD SPOT..




[size=16pt]
Horlapelumi[/size]

SECOND SPOT.





[size=16pt]Emaculate99[/size]

FIRST SPOT.





[size=16pt]OAUTemitayo[/size]

@Horlapelumi, Emaculate99, and OAUTemitayo


Congratulations guys.


Kindly send your mobile numbers to nairalandinterschooldebate@gmail.com for a surprise package.


Courtesy,

Ymodulus

Fynestboi

Is this the end?

Ymodulus:
Is this the end?

No sir

www.nairaland.com/attachments/3542701_judges20160329080727_jpeg26aaa2ecdef23dc31c09ab9af8302b01

And now, let us take this time out to appreciate all that has made this event what it is, a grand success.

To all the debaters from the essay submission stage til date, we love and appreciate you all.

To the organizers, coordinators, judges and all Nairaland ers, your unrelenting support are also well appreciated.

And to our dear sponsors, thank you, thank you for investing in this.


If you are reading this and you are also interested in sponsoring this educational event, kindly reach us on - - nairalandinterschooldebate@gmail.com.

Thank you.

[size=15pt]If you are reading this and you are also interested in sponsoring this educational event, kindly reach us on - - nairalandinterschooldebate@gmail.com.[/size]







www.nairaland.com/attachments/3542699_img20160328234005_jpeg64a2becee44c19540db4c262baf5d24d

Please on final Just mention me.

Ymodulus:
Please on final Just mention me.

Sure boss...

Seriously? I just got a surprise from NISD3. I really appreciate your gesture. Ymodulus, Thank you so much.

A very big thank you to NISD. Thank you Sir Ymodulus. I am grateful

OAUTemitayo:
A very big thank you to NISD.
Thank you Sir Ymodulus.
I am grateful

Thanks you welcome

I am here to cause troubleees

Wonderful thing you are doing here mods

Congratulations to the Great Ife representatives. Keep Repping!

Nice one...

Loading...

Well done

Cool. Thumbs up to you guys

Thanks Guys, you guys really proved my point. Those white folks just used us for money and we thought they where helping us. Thank God we're really seeing the real picture,
1914 Amalgamation was a huge Historical
Mistake

This is wonderful and educative hope it will serve as lesson to upcoming leaders to think and rethink about The nation Called Nigeria.

What is the way forward??

any pictures...........

luxanne:
And now, to the just concluded semi finals we have,

from the third spot, the list is going to be done in a descending order and most importantly, according to the scores collated by their officiating Judges.


So here goes,


Taking the third spot, we have from the Lagos State University, Horlapelumi with 76%.


Congratulations Sir

---

To the second spot, with a 1% variance away from the third spot, the debater with the highest best score so far, and from Obafemi Awolowo University, we have Emaculate99 with 77%.


Congratulations Sir

---

And now to the last man standing, one who has been present in all rounds of our best debaters' essay thread the one who has finally, finally fought his way bravely to the first spot with just a 1% variance away from the second spot and a 2% variance away from the third spot,


He's no other than,




with 78%,



from the school with the motto - “For learning and culture ”



I present to you, from Obafemi Awolowo University , our very own,



OAUTemitayo



A Hearty Congratulation Sir



Wow, you will agree with me that Team OAU got this semi final round of NISD, but will they be able to hold the spot down through the finals of this great competition or will it be taken by Team Unilorin, the school they will be contending with during the finals?

Well, it's just a matter of time and we shall surely find out then. You just stay following

---

However, we shall not fail to also give honorary mentions to the following debaters present during the semi finals:

1. Temidelaw - 73%

2. Neyoor - 71%

3. Catalyst4real - 69%

Well done Sirs, we do appreciate you all



The Best Essays for the Semi Final round comes next...

how raymy fit join?

this is wonderful, congratulations guys....
I'm impress with everything going on here, from the debaters to the judges, the moderators and all of nairalanders..

Wow.....you're all good. Thank you.

nice one