University students in Anambra State are about to trade lecture notes for microphones. Nine universities will take part in the Anambra State edition of the South East Campus Debate, with ₦1 million waiting for the winning team.
The competition is sponsored by businessman Chief Ikenna Okafor, who announced the details at a press briefing in Awka. His stated aim is to get students talking about the issues that shape the country’s future, so that the leaders of tomorrow already have the habit of thinking and arguing about them.
The schools in the competition
Nine institutions have been confirmed:
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam
Paul University, Awka
Madonna University, Okija
Tansian University, Umunya
Peter University, Achina Onneh
University on the Niger, Umunya
Shanahan University, Onitsha
Legacy University, Okija
Dates to note
Preliminary rounds will be held on October 17 and 18, 2026, and the grand finale follows on October 31, 2026. Okafor said many topics will be covered, though he did not name any at the briefing. The champions will go home with prize money of up to ₦1,000,000.
Why the sponsor is backing it
Okafor said he was an active debater and quiz competitor in his school days and still remembers those years fondly. He wants the tradition to continue and to get better. In his view, the real rewards are a sharper mind and stronger persuasion skills, with the cash as an extra.
The event is being funded through some of his companies and through the Idi Ezeani Nzekwuabuo Foundation, which he set up in memory of his late father, Chief Paulinus Okafor. According to Okafor, the foundation sponsors pupils and students from primary school to university and also supports people living with sickle cell, blind students and widows.
He described the debate as a starting point and said the plan is to grow it over time. He also thanked the management of MacClem Marketing for bringing the idea to him.
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