By- Alambo Datonye Fred
Ebonyi State born Enoch Nwali emerged the winner of the star prize of the 3rd edition of the Governor Douye Diri National Scrabble Championship.
The 26 year old undergraduate of Health Education at the University of Lagos was overall best in the Masters’ Category with + 705 cumulative spread points after winning 12 out of 15 games, clinching the top prize of five hundred thousand Naira and a trophy.
Nwali who is based in Lagos and became African Champion at the 14th Africa Scrabble Championship held in Lusaka, Zambia in 2022 dethroned last year’s winner, Nsikak Etim who won 11 games topped with the premium word ‘Sonlier’ said he was excited even as he gets ready to do the nation proud at the 2023 World Scrabble Championship in Las Vegas, United States later this year.
The Opens category was won by Ijegbulem Clement who won 12 and lost 3 to amass a cumulative spread of +863, beating Nwaeze Chuks to the Two hundred thousand Naira prize.
The Veterans category was won by Ojior Osikena with a cumulative point spread of +524, edging Dokun Esan and Azu Ogbogu to the prize while Adeleke John, a senior secondary school 3 student of Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State retained the title he won last year in the students’ event with a spread of +524 ahead of Edide Perowei and August Benharry to cart home fifty thousand Naira Prize money.
The Special Prize for overall best female player went to Vera Zinny.
Declaring the competition closed at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State reiterated the call for multinationals and international oil companies and the organized private sector to invest in sports development.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, he emphasized that by investing in sporting endeavours, IOCs and the corporate world would have contributed to the growth and development of society.
He stressed that Sports was a veritable tool to positively channel the energies of the youths, thereby drastically reducing the rate of crime, social vices and other forms of violence.
His words: ‘I am disturbed by what the multinationals and International oil companies do in our State. By not investing in sports, they are deliberately, consciously and inadvertently encouraging our youths to take to crime and criminality. I say this because whatever they spend to maintain the military and other security agencies to protect infrastructure, it is still very much more expensive than what they will put into sports and our youths will stop disturbing them. It’s a clear case of penny wise, pound foolish. It will take them very little to put into sports and they will have their peace and freedom to operate’.
The Governor, who said Sports was an integral part of the Prosperity Administration, said the present Administration has made sports a major tool in positively engaging the youths and has put in place a robust reward system to motivate sportsmen and women to actualize their potential.
He explained that with the exploits of the likes of Olympic silver medalist, Blessing Oborududu and other wrestlers as well as Bayelsa Queens who successfully retained their Nigeria Women’s Federation Cup title and finished second in the Premier League, it was clear that the State was on the path to greatness in Sports.
The Governor advised the Nigeria Scrabble Federation to put in place to sustain the National Championship.
In a remark, the State Commissioner for Youth and Sport Development, Daniel Igali represented by the Director of Sports at the State Sports Council, Sir Braveman Wodi said the continued hosting of the Governor Douye Diri National Scrabble Championship was indicative of the interest and love the Governor and the Deputy Governor has for Sports.
He stressed that players discovered from the competition would form the nucleus of Team Bayelsa to the National Youth Games coming up in September this year, describing Bayelsa as the hub of Sports in the country.
President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Engineer Olobatoke Aka thanked the Governor and the Deputy for sponsoring the national championship for the third consecutive year.
Engineer Aka said the Governor Douye Diri National Scrabble Championship served as a training ground and preparation for Nigeria’s contingent to the World Scrabble Championship scheduled for Las Vegas, United States from July 22-26, 2023.
In an address, the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Scrabble Association, Mr. Daniel Alabrah said the competition has in the last three years attracted top players and personalities across the country to the State, stating that the success recorded so far underscored the attention the Governor Douye Diri led Administration has accorded to Sports.
Alabrah who is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor said the National Championship has produced a new generation of scrabble players that would in few years time take the game by storm.
While appreciating the Governor for sponsoring the tournament, he urged the corporate world to take a cue to fund and support the growth of scrabble in the country.
Highpoint of the closing formalities was the presentation of trophies and cash prizes to the winners and other players who stood out in the competition.
