Girei Local Government Area Adamawa to take scrabble to schools
The zeal, desire and passion coupled with a firing determination to take the sport of scrabble to all nooks and crannies of Nigeria is burning like wild fire among key stakeholders of the mind game.
Just last week, the Lagos State Scrabble and Monopoly Association (LASSMA), under the leadership of Engineer Dipo Akanbi, took the ‘TAKE SCRABBLE TO SCHOOLS’ campaign to Atunrase Senior High School, Surulere, where it was embraced with feverish pitch enthusiasm by the students, the School Management Committee and Board of Trustees led by Mr. Adewale Adelowo.
In two weeks from now, the ‘TAKE SCRABBLE TO SCHOOLS’ caravan will land at the Rochas Foundation College, in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, on the 17th and 18th of this month, courtesy IBI CENTRE.
The Chief of Operations & Spelling Bee Co-ordinator, for IBI CENTRE Yola, Umar Faruq Baba-Inna said that over 100 students from fifteen Junior and Senior Secondary Schools are expected to attend this multi-purpose vehicle competition.
“The aim of the IBI CENTRE is to encourage the reading culture in an extracurricular competitive exercise. We are hopeful in having a final where the first, second and third positions from the three local government areas will be invited for a spell off and scrabble competition to select the most improved students and school by February,” Faruq Baba-Inna said.
A former Technical Director, of Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), Umar Faruq Baba-Inna said, sixteen schools will be participating in the competition which is been staged in memory of Retired Colonel Abubakar and Hadiza Baba-Inna.
This is the third Local Government Area in the State that is hosting the Secondary School Spelling Bee and Scrabble competitions.
Yola South LGA played host to the first edition on the 10th and 11th of February and Yola North Local Government also played host to a two-day Spelling Bee and Scrabble competition among secondary schools in it’s environ on the 11th and 12th of July.
The Former NSF Technical Director and now PANASA ratings officer, explained that the competition is aimed at creating awareness about the game of words in the North-Eastern Region of Nigeria, as well as picking Team Adamawa for the National Sports Festival tagged Gateway Games 2024 in Ogun State.
“We are hoping to use it as a springboard to galvanize support and create massive awareness about the game of Scrabble and its benefits to the young ones, including their parents, schools and the Local Government officials,” Umar Faruq Baba-Inna added.
Our correspondent gathered that IBI CENTRE will also be staging a Scrabble Clinic for Ibokun Community Public and Private Primary Schools pupils on the 21st of December at the CBT Center, Ibokun Grammar School, in Obokun LGA, Osun State.
The project has the complete backing of Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA), John Olusegun Foundation, Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Federal Medical Centre Yola and Center for Women and Adolescent Empowerment.
Newstap.com.ng understands that, Aisha Abba Abdullahi Foundation, Fresh Air Pro-Life Empowerment Foundation, Watermax Bottle Water, JANNA Health Care Foundation and KARATU Library Foundation are supporting the highly anticipated project.
“Four trophies, two for Spelling Bee and two for Scrabble will be won. Scrabble dictionaries, boards and Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionaries also form part of the prizes on offer. And Alhaji Abdulhamid Joda has graciously donated the dictionaries for us,” Umar Faruq Baba-Inna concluded.
