Nigerian Youths’ performance thrills PANASA, Awosika Foundation

Nigerian youths have the potential to excel at whatever they set out to do if given the enabling, the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) and the Wilfred Awosika Foundation have said.

Commending Nigerian players for putting the country on top of international scrabble, PANASA President, Adekoyejo Adegbesan, on Monday, said since 2015 the youths have continued to sustain the country’s status as the world’s best scrabble nation followed by the United States.

Speaking during the African Youth Scrabble Championship Trophy tour in Lagos, which was taken to Winifred Awosika, the sponsor and founder of Winifred Awosika Scrabble Tournament, Adegbesan said the foundation re-channelled the scrabble competition’s focus to involve the country’s youths.

He said the African Youth Scrabble Championship Trophy Tour was brought to Awosika to honour her contributions to the growth and success of Scrabble among youths in the country.

“The Winifred Awosika Foundation is a titled sponsor of the first ever African Youth Scrabble Championship, so it was important that when the trophy comes to Nigeria, it comes home.

The trophy will still continue to be in her name because of what she has done, the biggest strides, youths of junior scrabble on the continent has been from this fantastic mother of ours,” he said.

He said the trophy tour, which started in Ghana, Kenya and now Nigeria, would continue in other countries, such as Monrovia, Liberia, Uganda, Botswana and South Africa.

In her remarks, Awosika, expressed gratitude to organisers of scrabble tournaments in Nigeria for putting up competitions for young people.

She said her foundation’s tournament was to bridge the gap between private and public schools across the country, giving both the rich and poor in society a level playing ground.

Awosika said many individuals and schools across the country have participated in the tournament and have produced champions representing the country at international level.

President of, Financial Scrabbles Association, Femi Awowade, said the African Youth Scrabble Championship, sponsored by the Winifred Awosika Foundation, has made significant impact, which has placed Nigeria as the best scrabble nation in the world.

Speaking on the standard of scrabble in Nigeria, Awowade said the country’s world standing is a feat that cannot be allowed to slip away, noting that the foundation and sponsors would continue to roll out tournaments to build excellent players for the country.