Top dignitaries from Kenya,Gambia for PANASA President’s Cup

Ifeanyi Eduzor

Two top dignitaries from Kenya and Gambia are due in Lagos on Tuesday, for the first edition of the PANASA President’s Cup (PPC) and the African Youth Scrabble Championship (AYSC) holding simultenously at the Orchid Hotel Ikota-Lekki, Lagos and the Chrisland School Lekki-Lagos between the 24th and 28th of this month.
Kenyan Governor of Turkana County His Exellency Jeremiah Lomorukai will be arriving Lagos on Tuesday along with members of ‘Team Kenya’ to the two championships and ‘Team Uganda’ on the wings of Kenya Airways while the President of Gambia Scrabble Association (GSA), Dr. Abba Hydara, a renowned specialist ophthalmic surgeon, glaucoma specialist and a seasoned sports administrator will be landing in Lagos aboard Air Peace.
Both Airlines are partners of the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) and are backing both competitions.
Lomorukai, a former parliamentarian, has strong passion for sports and youth development and the growth of the game of scrabble in Kenya and the continent of Africa is very dear to his heart.
During his stay in the Center of Excellence, the Governor who has over 25 years of excellent service in different arms of government in Kenya will pay a courtesy visit to Oba Oniru of Iruland His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, Abisogun II and one of Africa’s leading Educationist Dr. Winifred Awosika, the founder of Chrisland Schools.
On the other hand, Dr. Abba Hydara, the President of Gambia Scrabble Association (GSA), has been the most senior, highest trained and most experienced member of the Gambia National eye health programme of the Ministry of Health since 2015.
His cumulative clinical, surgical, research and teaching experience spans three decades, including extensive community and rural posting as well as leadership.
Before joining the Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Centre in 2015, the Gambia had little or nothing to offer for blinding eye problems like Glaucoma, complicated Cataracts, childhood cataracts and glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and other inflammatory retinal problems: patients with these problems invariably slid into irreversible blindness.
Today, having presided over the only specialist eye hospital in the Gambia as the only senior consultant ophthalmologist, hope and confidence has been restored to patients and families with advanced eye conditions and surgeries with safer and better outcomes assured.
Dr. Abba Hydara, will be in Lagos for the PANASA special meeting and the Awards and Gala Night, he will also be competing for honours in the President’s Cup as the sole flag bearer from The Gambia.
The specialist ophthalmic surgeon who is also a University lecturer told our correspondent that the global economy melt down has affected the game of words in The Gambia and this explains why only one player is coming to Lagos from Banjul.
Instead of heading to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in July for the WESPA Championship, The Gambia, made the PANASA President’s Cup (PPC) it main target for the 2023 scrabble callendar because of its strategic importance to the development of the game on the continent.
The widely traveled and experienced Dr. Abba Hydara, a Pan Africanist has been helping in lubricating the growth of scrabble across Africa and he is a dependable ally of the President of PANASA Adekoyejo Adegbesan. He is expected to provide a supportive hand to the medical unit is the Main Organizing Committee for the twin events.
Players from 14 countries: Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Ghana, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, United States of America and host, Nigeria will feature at the four-day events in the PANASA President’s Cup (PPC) for the elite while students under 15 and 19 years will participate in the African Youth Scrabble Championship (AYSC).