“One does not necessarily need to stab his or her opponent with a dagger of insult, before winning an argument” –Ahoame Ray

Jaw War is adjudged by its enthusiasts to be the biggest public speaking event on university campuses across West Africa. It is an annual inter-Hall/Faculty debate contest which is organized by the Literary and Debating Society, University of Ibadan. The contest which began in 2014 is an occasion which every student in the First and Best University in Nigeria looks forward to. Its important feature is edutainment. Every year, students from the various halls of residence and faculties in the University meet at designated venues to do battle with words, as they debate one another on topical issues in the society. Last year’s edition saw the Faculty of Education triumphed over Faculty of Law, while Sultan Bello Hall defeated Lord Tedder Hall in the inter-hall finals.

One of the major features that stand out in the Jaw War is the entertainment aspect, which is characterised by the use of punch lines by speakers. Punch lines are final part of a joke; the word, sentence, or exchange of sentences that is intended to be funny and provokes laughter from the listeners. They are chiefly used to draw the attention of both the audience and judges as speakers assail ardent ears with mind shifting points. The essence of punch lines is to foreground certain key ideas in speeches, in order to leave long lasting impressions on the listeners.

On every occasion, thousands of students troop to the venues of Jaw War, expecting to be thrilled by speakers as they battle one another with armoury of words, throwing verbal punch lines at opponents. Thrilling as punch lines are, when over used, they become boring, leaving listeners with crippling effects. A look at the ongoing 2019 Jaw War has shown that the contest is beginning to drift away from its educating role into mere entertainment. The contest is beginning to dwell more on impression rather than expression. Some students no longer troop to the venues to be educated with sound arguments. Rather they are always on the lookout for some punch lines. Hence punch lines have taken the centre stage in some of the debates held so far. Punch lines have suffered abuses on the lips of many speakers at Jaw War. Thus, their essence it is beginning to drift from educational purpose to cheap impressionistic driven verbal assaults on opponents.

 We stand to be corrected, but for those who may have attended the first and second legs of this year’s edition, they may have noticed how some speakers at Jar War, indirectly hurl insults on their opponents in their bid to sell their impressionistic punch lines. A typical example is the so-called punch line credited to one Adesina Obaitan, from the Alexander Brown Hall, who was quoted by RENARSA Press UI as saying, “The only thing that is malnourished in Africa is my opponent”. This kind unguarded utterance goes beyond mere use of punch line. It is a verbal assault indirectly intended to wound the feeling of the opponent.

Furthermore, instead using punch lines to lure both the judges and audience to pay wrap attention to their sound logic, many at times some speakers try to call unnecessary attention of the audience for themselves by using punch lines that are out of tune with the context of their argument. In the same vein, verbal fallacies and quotation of seeming “facts and figures” from unverified and unreliable sources, especially blog sites, is becoming an unchecked norm at Jaw War. The fact that one is able to google certain information on the internet does not make them credible. Most often, opinionated lies, clad in the garment of vain babbling syllables and lying rhymes becomes a cheap bait to hoodwink some careless listeners, or perhaps even the judges, whose ears at times fail to sieve the speaker’s vocal chaff from the grain of sound logic. This is against the rules of rhetoric. One does not necessarily need to demean the personality of his or her opponent before winning the minds of judges and audience.

So instead of insulting opponents in the guise of punch lines, speakers should rather attack the opponent’s points using healthy and sound counter points. Although someone may argue that in doing battle, it is permissible to deploy every weapon against the enemy, hence shielding the dignity or prestige of an enemy is pointless. Nevertheless, debate is not literally a war of character defamation. The fact that the contest is known as “Jaw War” does not warrant the use of verbal assault on opponents.

Another issue is the rowdiness that has become a constant feature during Jaw War. Many At times, members of the audience assailed the ears of the judges with misguided tumults of yelling, as well as misguided shouts, while the speakers reel out their points. This often throws the whole venue into disorderliness, making it impossible for the judges to carefully listen to the speakers. The noise pollution sometimes, causes unnecessary time wastage and delay, as the moderators from time to time stop the debates to control the crowd whose continuous interruptions via side comments, hailing of favorites speakers etc. drag the contest to end at odd hours at night

In the light of the above, the questions that come to our mind are “So what? What needs to be done in order to correct the aforementioned anomalies? The following suggestions suffice as good answers.

First, the organiser of Jaw War should ensure that decorum and respect for human dignity are instilled back into the contest. Any speak who is found guilty of verbally assaulting opponents with punch lines should have his or her points deducted to serve as a deterrent to others.

Also, effort should be made to control the rowdiness that often holds sway at the competition. Members of the audience who are caught causing rowdiness should be told to use the exit doors. This would deter other potential noise makers, and would help the judges to pay keen attention to the speakers as they logically battle one another, throwing sound verbal missiles.

By and large, facts checking should be included as a means of crosschecking certain “facts and figures” being reeled out by speakers. This is to enable the judges to separate between opinions and reliable facts, got from trusted sources; be they from textbooks or on the internet. These suggestions among others would go a long way in bringing back the competition to it right place of pride, as not just the best public speaking event in West Africa, but an educating event to look forward  to in the whole of Africa and beyond.

©NASELS Press UI, 19th September, 2019

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