Going by the hue and cry trailing Team Nigeria’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, President of the Lekki Scrabble Club Samuel Anikoh believes that game would have won gold medals and assuaged the feeling of Nigerians if it was in the Summer Games.
88 athletes represented the country in 11 discipline but their efforts sadly equalled the London 2012 when the team returned without a medal around their necks.
Interestingly, Nigeria has been recognized across the world as a leading nation in scrabble and became the first black nation to win the world championship in 2015.
Just last month in the United States, the country also displayed it’s strong presence on the letter-and- number game by claiming victory in the WORD CUP through Eta Karo.
Gold medals were not also in short supply at the 2023 Africa Games where Team Nigeria registered a feat as Adebisi Adekansi became the first woman to win two gold medals in scrabble.
Players, enthusiasts and other stakeholders have continuously been keeping the game vibrant through retreats, meets, duels and championships at different levels including the next edition of the Lekki Scrabble Classics which will hold in September next month.
Anikoh who presides over the Lekki Scrabble Club weighed in on the need by the government to raise more support for the game even if the sport is eventually included as an Olympics Sport.
“While it will be quite difficult to make any bold declarations, I do believe we have what is required and with the right level of support and preparations would stand an excellent chance of winning several medals at the Olympics if scrabble was one of the games on show.”
He emphasised that game has witnessed some horizontal and vertical growth in the last decade.
“Scrabble in Nigeria has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. We have always had great players, boasting the only African player to have won the world scrabble championship in Wellington Jighere. The number of young players coming through the ranks makes me confident that we’ll be seeing another Nigerian winner in the not too distant future.
Two prodigious Nigerian talents Enoch Nwali and Timilehin Doko currently hold the titles of African Scrabble champion and West African Scrabble champion respectively.
The recent successes of the Nigerian contingent at the Scrabble Word Cup in Albuquerque, USA further enhances our reputation as a scrabble powerhouse, with Nigerian players winning in both Divisions. Although there is significant effort, innovation and investment by some players of the game to further socialise and make the game more attractive, there is still huge room for improvement on the level of sponsorship obtainable from corporate organisations.”
While recognising the efforts of organisations like; Loense international Ltd, Boaz Integrated & Allied services, Frontpage Couture , Midas Farms, Mindgames International and Elcrest E & P, to name a few, for their contributions so far, he called on other corporate bodies to invest in this worthy game that has significant benefits in improving language skills, enhancing critical thinking, and promoting social bonding.
