Psychology Department Clinches Top Spot at Podium 2025

By Iman Aiyeola and Daniel Nnam

The Department of Psychology has clinched a double victory at The Podium debate competition, winning the overall contest with 334 points and earning the coveted “King of Tongues” (KOT) title. The debate competition was organised by The Idea Collective (TIC) of the Social Science Student Association (SOSSA),

Ably represented by Chiamaka Chima, Oluwaseyi Adelakun, and Oludasa Olubade Olawale, the psychologists went head-to-head with the Department of Mass Communication, the defending champions. They debated the topic: “This house believes that the feminist movement is still relevant in the 21st century”. The defending champions supported the motion, while the current winners opposed it. On the other hand, the departments of Political Science and Geography debated the topic, “This house believes the Sharia law is not too strict and should be adopted nationwide.”

In second place was the Department of Mass Communication, represented by Isabella Ebhaleme, Daniel Nnam, and Nwaolisa Angel, with a total of 312 points. The Department of Geography followed with 270 points, securing third place.

The finals were held at the Faculty of Social Sciences Lecture Theatre on July 17, 2025, following the preliminaries held on July 10, 2025.

The chief speaker of the Department of Psychology, Chiamaka Chima, described their win as “exhilarating” and a complete turnaround, recalling how she started to doubt her team’s performance after seeing their opponents perform. She attributed a large amount of support received to their coach, who represented their department last year as the chief speaker.

“The chief speaker for the team last year was someone who actually coached us for this year, and she brought her A-game. We also received support from the person who had coached them, so it was a lot of padding and support all around. We had no choice but to deliver,” she revealed.

Despite coming second, Isabella Ebhaleme, the chief speaker for the Department of Mass Communication, believes that her team were a strong contender who put up a good fight. “It was a fierce battle and a convergence of brilliant minds, regardless of who came first or second. One thing I know is that everyone can testify that Mass Communication left a mark,” Ebhaleme said.

After one year of wearing the KOT crown and leading the Faculty of Social Sciences to victory at the JCIN Interfaculty Debate, Emmanuel Makinde of the Department of Mass Communication had to pass the crown on inevitably to the current champion, Oluwaseyi Adelakun of the Department of Psychology.

“The champ who won the title is quite a brilliant and sharp mind. The crown is heavy, and if one thing, I’m sure he’s worthy and competent to wear it. The crown may have moved, but the standard we set will still echo loudly as we leave the faculty next session,” Makinde said.

Speaking on the uniqueness of this year’s debate, Khalil Alausa, the project lead for the Podium 2025, considered this introduction of sensitive topics an improvement for this year’s edition. Although many audience members expressed their displeasure with some of the topics, such as child marriage debated at the preliminaries, Alausa disagreed. “People say they are topics that should not be debated at all, but I believe there is nothing like a topic that cannot be debated. Since we’re here to impart knowledge, we’re here to gain knowledge, we’re here to understand how things work in real life, we need to debate everything,” he explained.

The panel of judges were made up of professional mooters and debaters from the Faculty of Law and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ): Joshua Adeyeye, Ezekiel Olaleye, Victoria Ayandele, and Esther Amusan.

Commenting on the presentation from speakers at Podium 2025, Joshua Adeyeye said, “It was a pleasure to have sat as a judge and watched talented participants speak during the competition. From the debate to the Public Speaking and the British Parliamentary (BP) Debate, I was definitely impressed by the speakers’ eloquence, pitch, and sound arguments.”

SOSSA president, Abolade Abdulrasheed, acknowledged the improvements in this year’s competition, particularly in the selection of judges. He also encouraged students to attend and participate in similar faculty events, such as the upcoming SOSSA Feud, the SOSSA Faculty Dinner and the end-of-session party.