IBTD: Square College Wins Group D Clash Against Heritage Group of Schools

Square College, Lagos, champions of the second Lagos Regional Finals, has defeated Heritage Group of Schools, Ogun State, in the Group D contest at the ongoing I Beg To Differ student debate tournament.

The debate centred on the motion: “Social media is more of a threat than a benefit to democracy.”

Arguing in support of the motion on Monday, Square College’s Boluwatife Amoo and Oyinyechi Maduagwusaid said social media poses serious risks to democratic processes through misinformation, manipulation, foreign interference and the spread of extremist content.

They also referenced the use of social media to amplify hate speech against the Rohingya in Myanmar, as well as alleged foreign interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. 

Square College further cited the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol as an example of how online mobilisation can contribute to political extremism and polarisation.

Heritage Group of Schools, represented by Zipele Leah and Timothy Olamilekan, opposed the motion, arguing that social media has strengthened democracy by giving citizens greater access to information, political participation and government accountability.

Leah described social media as a modern public square, citing the 2020 #EndSARS protests, which generated millions of posts, and the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign, which helped push for changes to Nigeria’s constitutional age requirements for political office.

She argued that social media gives citizens a platform to question leaders and participate in public debate around the clock.

In his rebuttal, Timothy said the problem was not social media itself but how it is used. 

He argued that misinformation and propaganda existed long before smartphones and social media, stressing the need for digital literacy, fact-checking and civic education.

Heritage therefore had a slight advantage on the judges’ combined score, 67 points to Square College’s 66.5.

However, the public vote swung the contest decisively in Square College’s favour, with the Lagos school securing 74 per cent of the audience vote, compared with Heritage Group of Schools’ 26 per cent.

The combined result gave Square College a 73.9 per cent to 69.6 per cent victory.

The result moves Square College into second position in Group D, while Heritage Group of Schools drops to the bottom of the group ahead of the final round of group-stage matches.