By Tayo Ogunseye
It was a rare convergence, a gathering of word-lovers from the greats to the newbies as they all found a common ground in Ajegunle City which had its first feel of the mind game over the weekend at the maiden BSP Scrabble Tournament in Lagos.
A rich list comprising former World Champion, current African King, the EEAST conquerors, King of the Jungle! and other ‘word-leaders’ while not forgetting the mesmerizing 9 year-old Saviour Onazi who was the face of the 2023 PANASA African Youth Scrabble Championship, ensured the occasion matched it’s moment in history.
Players from 10 states including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Edo, Delta, Niger, Kogi, Cross River, Anambra found expressions in the first ever tourney in Ajegunle.
It indeed lived up to expectations with suspense, drama and emotions.
James Eruje, a homeboy, who had the elements in his favour, as he occupied Table One even at the last round witnessed a sudden twist as he was shaken off in a tough duel by the eventual champion Samuel Adebola.
The Ogun State based player would emerge as the top man in a keenly contested competition having garnered 10 wins and 2 defeats same as second placed Wellington Jighere (+769) and Eruje (+675) but with the highest cumulative points of +902 in Class A.
He was presented with a cash prize of 250,000 naira.
“This BSP Scrabble Tournament is a wonderful one! I give God all the glory for this victory!” Exclaimed Adebola moments after he secured the victory in a tense mind game against a rugged Eruje. “The final round of games was a very critical one and I knew that” he continued, “if I wanted to win this tournament, I must win with a healthy cumulative and that was what happened. Emotion is part of the game because we all want to win it but, I think God gave me the day.”
“The organization was fantastic! They BSP Scrabble Club did a fantastic job!” The well-travelled Medical Doctor said appending his seal of commendation on the team.
“From the arrangement of the hall to refreshments and for being able to do this magnificent job of putting all these together, it’s kudos to them.” He concluded.
Scrabble Amazon Bukunmi Afolayan was the first to appear in Class B as she was fourth on the overall table with nine wins and three defeats.
Sufyan Boluwatife and Gbadebo Olufemi completed the top three positions in that category.
Ibikun Agbelekale was adjudged to be the best in Class C.
Various prizes including a scrabble set sponsored by former national champion Olatunde Oduwole were presented to every deserved player.
Over 102 players participated in the one-day tournament which was organized as a way of taking the sport to the base line of the vibrant community.
Collins Okafor, the President of the charismatic BSP Scrabble Club expressed his satisfaction with the turnout.
“The BSP Scrabble Tournament is an amazing event! We didn’t expect this high turnout.We did the best that we could do, players and other participants enjoyed themselves. It was top-notch.” He said with an air of satisfaction.
He later revealed that Ajegunle he and his team actually grew up in Ajegunle and after about 30 years apart, they decided to come together to form the club which is now an avenue for giving back to the society through the game of scrabble.
“After about 30 years that some of us left this area, we were able to get to know and meet one another through playing scrabble. So eight years ago, we decided to form the BSP Scrabble Club and this has helped us to reach out to our community, individuals and groups.We believe scrabble can be used as a societal change for development. This is a tradition we have started and hopefully we will continue.”
This noble initiative has been commended by stakeholders who hailed the BSP Scrabble Club for taking the game to a new place in the City of Ajegunle.
