NAN-S-16
Scrabble
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Nov.1, 2016 (NAN) World Scrabble Winning Coach Anthony Ikolo has appealed to multinational to invest in the sports.
Ikolo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that the current African and World Scrabble Champions were celebrities that needed endorsement from the multinationals.
Nsikak Etim won the African Championship in 2014, while Wellington Jighere, won the World title in 2015.
These wins made Nigeria the best playing scrabble nation in the world.
Ikolo said he was using the occasion of his 44th birthday to appeal to multinationals, corporate bodies to invest in the sport.
“I am using this opportunity of my birthday to call on the multinational and other well meaning Nigerians to invest in scrabble.
“This is a wake up call for them to come and sponsor the game of scrabble in the country.
“Scrabble is not where you will spent billion, it is where you spent the least minimum of million and achieve a good target and make the youths to be responsible,’’ he said.
Ikolo said the major challenge facing the sport was lack of sponsorship.
According to him, if we were in a developed world, the fact that we won the world championship as a sporting federation is enough to move scrabble to the next level.
“Scrabble is an intellectual game, a mind and a mental game that has taken a lot of restive youths off the streets.
“Since government alone cannot develop sports the multinationals that are making money from Nigerians should invest in scrabble and give our youths a meaning live.
“Today we have a current African Champion and World Champion. These guys are celebrities, including me, the coach, that did the background work should have an endorsement.
“When I was elected in June 2014 as national coach, the first thing that came to my mind was to win the African Champion.
“This I did in grand style out of 10 available prizes we won the first nine, leaving the tenth one for South Africa who were our host.
“The moment we came back I know we were lacking in some areas that will hinder us from winning the world championship.
“At the end of 2014, I put up a proposal that will evolved a lot of hard work for top Scrabble players in the country just to put them in the best frame of mind.
“ This paid off and at the end of the day in 2015 precisely in November in Spain we won the world championship.
“The cumulative performance of the six players that make up the team put Nigeria in the Summit of World Scrabble,’’ he said.
Ikolo, however, thanked God for keeping him alive and healthy on his 44th birthday and for all his achievements.
He also thanked his wife for the spiritual and moral support and for her persistence in wishing him the very best. (NAN)
DE/OFN
Edited by Felix Nwadioha