The Nigeria Scrabble Federation is worried that one of its strongest and talented members to the World English Scrabble Players Association Championship (WESPAC) holding in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States from July 22 to 26, Oluwatimilehin Doko, may miss the competition as the American Embassy has denied him entry visa to the country.
 
Announcing the development at the weekend, president of Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), Toke Aka, said: “Even though we are thankful that virtually all members of the Team got visas, one of our strongest youth players, a 400 level pharmacy student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and national number four player, Oluwatimilehin Doko, was denied visa.
 
“We believe he was wrongfully stereotyped. This is a player who came out amongst the top five in Accra, Ghana last year during the West African Scrabble Championship and qualified for the African Scrabble Championship in Zambia, but missed out due to his passport being held up in Bayelsa State during last year’s flood. We just hope this does not dampen the young man’s morale.”
 
Aka also pleaded with the U.S. Embassy to rescind its decision Doko to attend the WESPAC, saying that the scrabble community in Nigeria and the continent is devastated, as most players believe that the absence of Doko will be a massive blow to Team Nigeria and the African contingent.
 
Doko’s journey to Team Nigeria’s squad to the World Scrabble Championship started early last year after excelling in different championships with in and outside the country. These include the West Africa University Games Scrabble Championship, which he won, and the World Championship qualifiers held early this year.