Nigeria's Scrabble team to African Championships in Kigali stranded in Nigeria as players beg for sponsorship

Posted : 03 October 2024

The Federal Ministry of Sports has washed its hands of Team Nigeria Scrabble, which is heading to Kigali, Rwanda, to defend the African Senior Championship it won two years ago in Lusaka, Zambia.

The Sports Ministry, under the stewardship of Senator John Enoh, informed the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) that due to a lack of funds, they cannot support the team’s trip to Rwanda for the championship.

The Sports Ministry claimed that they have spent all the federal allocations on the 13th African Games and the shambolic, disgraceful, and woeful outing at the Paris Olympic Games.

As a result, the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) and its players have been told to source funds for the 15 players and five officials who are expected to represent Nigeria at the competition, which starts on the 23rd of this month.

Ironically, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, told the over 100 million youths of the country on Tuesday, including these abandoned Scrabble players, that his administration cares deeply about them.

This development has forced members of Team Nigeria Scrabble, who are mostly young, fresh graduates and unemployed youths, to beg friends, family members, and schoolmates for money to make the trip to Kigali in three weeks' time.

A key and influential member of the Lagos Team, Enoch Nwali of the University of Lagos, is the defending champion in the individual category, while Nigeria is the defending champion of the team event at the African Scrabble Championship.

It’s imperative to mention that Nigeria took the first three positions at the last African Scrabble Championship, with five players in the top ten bracket in Lusaka, Zambia.

Nigeria has also won 13 of the previous 14 editions of the individual competition, which started in 1994, and has won all the team titles.

It’s noteworthy to state that Nigeria is the best Scrabble-playing nation in the world, while Oluwatimilehin Doko, a member of Team Nigeria, is currently the highest-ranked African in the World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA), rated at number 8, with four other Nigerians in the top 20.

Last month, it took a last-minute intervention by the Kwara State Government for Nigeria to participate in the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Sri Lanka.

Nigeria's Scrabble team to African Championships in Kigali stranded in Nigeria as players beg for sponsorship

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