‘I once contemplated quitting scrabble’
VI
That happened long ago and I think the bottom line is that we have settled all that so need to go over it again. We are moving on.
It is very very cordial. I am getting all the necessary support from the federation. For instance, this very trip to Australia was fully funded by the federation. That goes a long way to show how we are having a harmonious relationship. In fact, I was not the only person who represented Nigeria in Australia. Six of us were sponsored to represent the country.
Before this victory, I was thinking of quitting but now that I have conquered the world, I will surely like to stay and defend my title. It is not only about winning but being able to defend your crown. I have to push on for a little longer and see how long I will reign. I have to prove that my performance in Australia was not a fluke.
It is hard to explain. It can’t be explained. It is something you can only feel. It was indeed a special moment which I will remember for a long time.
My victory is the gateway to uhuru as we call it in scrabble. It means everything to Nigerian scrabble. In fact, not only Nigerian scrabble but Africa as a whole. A lot of good things will be coming our way. I can tell you that it is just the beginning of better things to come.
(Laughs) Playing scrabble is not about sleeping and waking with dictionaries. The game of scrabble is played based on English language. What happens in scrabble is that we adopt the dictionary that has the highest authority in English language. Some years back, it used to be the Chambers dictionary but in 2007 Collins took over and we had to change. So right now the dictionary we are using is Collins dictionary 2015 edition. We have new additions to the lexicon and it is very daunting trying to master the new words. So it entails studying just one dictionary and not all available English language dictionaries.
That might work for armature players but at the professional level, that won’t work. You can’t do guess work at this level. The people I compete against are people who play for a living. They are highly intelligent people. For instance, the world number one prior to the last championship is someone who is trained to have photographic memory. Imagine going to compete against someone with photographic memory and you are doing guess work. It can never work.
Not really. I will continue to take part in national tournaments. I am the number one in Nigeria and I know that at the next tournament, I will be the man to beat. Everybody will like to ‘kill’ me to prove a point. Nigerians have this tradition of always dealing with anyone who has gone to win at the international level. So I am looking forward to being badly dealt with at the next tournament. I wouldn’t be surprised, if I am badly beaten by another Nigerian.
We have a lot of potential world champions. The truth is Nigeria has the toughest playing field in the world. In the top 100 rated players in the world, Nigeria has the highest number within that 100. That tells you that in Nigeria there are more than 10 potential world champions. So my world championship victory will serve as a catalyst to boost every other person out there to go and do it. Most of my compatriots will say it is possible, so let us also do it.