Winnings from Scrabble my ‘drive’ – Wellington Jighere, World Scrabble Champion
The 1st African to win the English-Language World Scrabble Championships, Wellington Jighere in an exclusive chat with sportlineng revealed the secret behind his successful outing in Perth and wonderful career till date.
The Nigerian who had participated in several competitions like World Championships on three occasions (finishing 3rd, 11th and 1st respectively), African Championships on four occasions ( finishing 7th, 1st, 1st, and 18th), five Godswill Akpabio International Scrabble Classics (finishing 2nd, 1st, 17th, 15th and 2nd respectively), two Kwete Scrabble Festival (1st and 1st) and a host of other championships.
When asked what has been his drive, the World Scrabble Champion responded:
Sustenance. I had depended on winnings from Scrabble to pay the bills for as long as I can remember.
The 33- year old graduate of Crop Science from the University of Benin also lamented the exclusion of Scrabble from the National Sports Festival, schools and colleges curricula.
I’d definitely encourage the inculcation of scrabble into the  curricula of our schools and colleges. I’d ensure that Scrabble earns a permanent place amongst the compulsory sports in the National Sports Festival.
That a Sports Festival is forthcoming and Scrabble is not featuring is an aberration considering the role that scrabble has to play in building up the mental capacities of our youngsters out there.Â
You can read the complete interview here http://www.sportlineng.com/41022-2/
