Nigeria Dominates Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships In Kenya

Nigeria Dominates Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships In Kenya

Sampson Adedeji

Team Nigeria produced a commanding performance to sweep all the top honours at the Pan African Youth Scrabble Championships, which concluded on Sunday in Kenya, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Led by captain Sufyan Olojoku, the Nigerians clinched both the U-19 and U-15 individual and team titles, underlining the country’s dominance in the sport. 

In the U-15 category, Sophia Ekeruche was outstanding, going unbeaten with 18 victories and an impressive cumulative score of +3871. 

Kenya’s Kingsley Odhiambo finished second with 14 wins (+583), while Nigeria’s Hassan Olojoku placed third with 13 wins (+1387).

Ghana’s Michael Somuah, despite also securing 13 wins, missed the podium due to a lower cumulative score of +796.

Another Nigerian, Eliana Igbe, secured 6th place with 12 wins (+1406), finishing just behind Kenya’s Adrian Ngache. Nigeria also clinched the U-15 team crown, finishing ahead of Kenya and Ghana.

In the U-19 division, Nigeria’s Prestige Archibong, the former U-15 champion in Lagos two years ago, edged compatriot Abdulqudus Aliu to the title.

Both players recorded 18 wins from 24 games, but Archibong’s higher cumulative score (+2794) gave him the edge over Aliu (+2568).

Team captain Sufyan Olojoku narrowly missed out on the top two with 17 wins but still made the podium thanks to a superior cumulative score.

Joy Nwabuzor and Olive Alila also finished strongly. The rest of the top 10 in the U-19 category featured Ghana’s Delali Aquila alongside Kenya’s Israel Otieno, Jerem Kipchumba, Samson Karani, and Emmanuel Wandera.

Nigeria secured the U-19 team title, with Ghana and Kenya completing the podium. 

With this clean sweep across categories, Nigeria again reaffirmed its status as Africa’s powerhouse in youth Scrabble.