It was indeed a coming together of Eagles at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State on Monday the 12th day of August 2024. This is as the long-awaited Olaleye Akintububo SRC Parliamentary Debate Competition took place.

It was an interesting and worthwhile beauty to behold for a curious audience who watched keenly with bated breath to know who would be crowned with the diadem of championship as the contestants engaged topical issues in what could be described as a war of jaws and a battle of wits.

The British-styled parliamentary debate competition which was ably chaired by the sponsor of the competition and an alumnus of the university’s Faculty of Law, Mr Olaleye Akintububo Esq., was held at the instance and under the auspices of AAUASU Students’ Representative Council under the visionary leadership of Distinguished Senator Akingbondere Babatunde. The keenly contested competition was judged by Mr. Sunday Kolawole, a proficient broadcaster with the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation, OSRC, Akure.

Seven out of the eight faculties that make up Adekunle Ajasin University got into the ring through their respective representatives, and at the end of the Intellectual face-off, the Faculty of Administration and Management Sciences emerged as the winner while the Faculty of Education emerged as the runner-up.

The Faculty of Administration and Management Sciences was duly represented by Olamilekan Oluwadarasimi and Olorundare Olayemi, while the Faculty of Education was ably represented by Oriyomi Titilayo and Orumwhense Favour.

The champion faculty received a cash prize of N100,000 while the runner-up went home with N50,000 which were the exclusive preserves of their representatives. Barring the cash prizes, beautiful awards, as well as medals, were also bestowed on the winning faculties.

Earlier in his opening speech, the Senate President of AAUASU, Akingbondere Babatunde, disclosed that the competition aimed to expose the student populace, and indeed the university community, to the business of the legislature and to provide a platform for the exploration of hidden oratorical prowess and rewarding same.

According to him, “One of the aims of organising this programme is to expose the students to the business of the House. This is for those who may want to contest later to represent their various departments at the SRC. The knowledge garnered here will equally be useful for those who may want to become legislators in our national political sphere in the future.”

On his part, the sponsor of the competition, Mr Olaleye Akintububo Esq, gave insights on how to become successful in one’s career, using his personal experience as a case study. He emphasised the values of hard work, discipline, networking, and honesty, among others.

Olamilekan Olayinka, one of the winners of the competition while expressing his feelings about the competition said: “It was a competition we expected to be very difficult especially as it was our first time participating in a British parliamentary debate.

“Trust me, with the calibre of judges, the strict and different modalities, it was indeed quite the task.”

“So it is a feeling of fulfilment to have been able to achieve this feat, especially as it is my third time winning first place, in a row!