96 players for African Scrabble Championship
By Ifeanyi Eduzor
A total of Ninety six players from ten countries will be competing for honours at the 14th edition of the African Scrabble Championship which starts on Friday 21, October, 2022 in Lusaka the Zambian capital.
Team Nigeria will be represented by sixteen players, thirteen males and three females under the captainship of Oshevire Avwenagha and assisted by Tuoyo Mayuku.
The winner of the Mind Games Incorporated Grand Slam title Wellington Jighere leads a strong sixteen man to defend the title the country won in 2018.
A look at Team Nigeria, indicates that eight players in the top twenty in the World are in the Zambian capital and among them, three former winners will be eyeing the top prize again.
Jighere who is a former World Champion has two African crowns under his name while Nsikak Etim and Dennis Ikekeregor have also won the Championship once each.
Other high profile players in the Team Nigeria Squad are Eta Paul Karo, the Malaysian Prince, Olatunde Oduwole the Champion of Champions in Nigeria, Enoch Tochukwu Nwali the Champion of the Sophomore edition of the Emmanuel Egbele Annual Scrabble Tournament in Lagos, he finished on the podium in Accra, Ghana at the West Africa Scrabble Championship won Eta Paul Karo.
Emmanuel Umujose is another heavyweight in Lusaka alongside super wordsmith in Prince Omosefe, Oshevire Avwenagha and Chukwudi Ehibudu.
Deputy captain of the Eagles Scrabble Words Lords, Tuoyo Mayuku is spearheading the female cast from Nigeria that include Bukunmi Afolayan and Chiamaka Gabriel.
Mayuku is very confident of topping the ladies table at the end of the three days event while Bukunmi Afolayan is likely to be her greatest rival on the board.
Head coach Prince Sir Anthony Ikolo, explained that the team to Lusaka will surely make Nigeria proud at the end of the competition both in the individual and team event.
Besides, Team Nigeria, nine other countries are already in Lusaka. They are Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, South Africa and host Zambia.
Host Zambia and Kenya have the biggest contingent of 26 players each while South Africa and Ghana have 6 players each and 8 players will be representing Uganda.
The Gambia and Cameroon are in Lusaka with just a player each.
Meanwhile, Team Nigeria has moved from Asmara Hotel to Cosmic Hotel which is closer to the venue of the championship and more pocket friendly.
In a bid to make Team Nigeria more homely, a Nigerian restaurant, Tasty Bite Nigerian has been contracted to serve the players our popular menu like Egusi, Afang, Vegetable and Okra Soups with goat meat, pomo, cow leg, pounded yam, semo, eba and fufu to go with it.
Nigeria has won 12 out of the 13 previous editions of the African Scrabble Championship.
