Scrabble word-lords Wellington Jighere, Olatunde Oduwole, Eta Karo as well as Dennis Ikekeregor will add sparks to the maiden South-South Opens Scrabble Tournament which begins this weekend in Asaba, Delta State.
The quartet who share a richly combined profiles from the World, African and national championships will contend against other top ranked players at the tournament which boast of a prize-money of over two-million naira.
The South-South Opens Scrabble Tournament, an initiative of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation’s South-South Zone will see players compete in the Masters, Intermediate, Opens and Veterans categories this weekend in Asaba, Delta State which Incidentally will be hosting the 2022 National Sports Festival in November.
Bright Idahosa who is the Zonal Coordinator, expresses his delight at the birth of the tournament which according to him, is a child of necessity in organised scrabble going by the quality of talents produced in the zone and the need to replace them in the future.
During a chat with the media, he says that, “not too long ago, there was a dearth in scrabble championship across the nation this, the South South saw as a case of living by the bank of a river and washing your hands with spittle.”
He continues, “the region considers this unacceptable, a disservice to the championship spirit in them, and a deviation from the norm of breeding future champions. They went to work and this championship is a fallout from decision reached”, he reveals.
“We must keep stoking the ember of winning and staying at the top, as the current champions lose their grip on the things that make them shine, as a result of age and other factors, there must be ready hands to takeover the mantle, and keep the winning spirit aglow.”
Africa’s best female jammer Mayuku Tuoyo is expected to be in the mix of super-scrabbers at the mindgame which is open to players across the country.
Idahosa believes the purpose of making the tournament open will bears more opportunities for attending players to enjoy healthy competitions and foster unity amongst themselves.
“The dictum remain, “Iron sharpens iron”, and so the championship is open to all states of the federation, to test their strength, leverage on it, work on their shortcomings, foster unity with others, even while building the spirit of sportsmanship. It is an opportunity to align on what I term “sporting espionage” while breeding the best of sports men and women, and creating a template for future champions across divide.”
Idahosa who is also a scrabble coach, extends invitations to individuals, private, state governments and multinationals in the oil-rich region to support the tournament through sponsorship as well as encouraging talents in the mindgame.
The South-West Zonal Coordinator of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) Emmanuel Egbele has given reasons behind the choice of Ibadan, Oyo state as the venue for the maiden South-West Closed Scrabble championship.
Since the tournament was announced last week, plenty of excitement has been generated from players and enthusiasts alike.
Interestingly, a few observers assumed the commercial centre, Lagos would have been the venue ahead of Ibadan.
Making clarification on the reasons Ibadan became the preferred choice, Egbele explained that it was only normal for the first South-West Closed championships to be held in the biggest city in West Africa which incidentally is the Zonal headquarters of the NSF.
During a brief chat with the media, he assured that subsequent editions would be hosted by different cities across the states as Ibadan was selected during to certain parameters.
“The city of Ibadan is our Zonal Headquarters so it is home for us. It is therefore fitting to go start from there and move to other states in subsequent editions.”
He further cited the rich historical background of Ibadan city as an opportunity for participants to explore for tourism.
Furthermore, he highlighted how central the city is for participants coming from other states to access logistically.
“We also know Ibadan is central for most of the South-West States. It is also an historic city that will provide some of us the opportunity to admire the sights and sound.”
The South-West Closed Scrabble Championship is slated for Jogor Hall this Saturday.
