You are the main speaker in a school debate, the topic of which is: Bribery and corruption are worse enemies of our country than armed robbery. Write your s...

Speech in Support of the Motion: Bribery and corruption are worse enemies of our country than armed robbery.

Mr. Chairman, accurate timekeeper, panel of judges, co-debaters, ladies and gentlemen. I stand before you this morning to speak in support of the motion which states that bribery and corruption are worse enemies of our country than armed robbery.

Before I proceed, permit me to define my terms. Bribery is the giving or taking of money or favours to influence a person in a position of trust, while corruption is the dishonest abuse of power for private gain. Armed robbery, on the other hand, is the forceful seizure of property with the aid of weapons.

My first point, ladies and gentlemen, is that of scale. The armed robber attacks a few victims in one night, but the corrupt official robs an entire nation for years. When funds meant for roads, hospitals and schools are diverted into private pockets, millions of citizens suffer. The armed robber steals thousands; the corrupt leader steals billions.

Secondly, corruption is more difficult to fight because it hides behind respectability. The armed robber is feared and hunted, but the corrupt person sits in a fine office, wears an agbada and is celebrated at ceremonies. He escapes justice because he can bribe his way out of every trap. Thus corruption not only commits the crime but also corrupts the very system meant to punish it.

Furthermore, corruption is actually the parent of armed robbery. When the treasury is looted, factories close, graduates roam the streets and hunger drives the desperate into crime. Remove corruption and you dry up the very swamp that breeds armed robbers.

Finally, corruption destroys the future. A stolen fortune denies children education and denies the sick their medicine. It kills silently, spreading poverty and death far beyond any gunman's reach.

Ladies and gentlemen, the armed robber wounds the body of one victim, but the corrupt person poisons the soul of the whole nation. On these grounds, I urge you all to support the motion. Thank you.