The Scrabble crisis and a biased NSC as umpire

Yusuf, his ministry courting fresh troubles

There is no doubting the fact that in terms of performance, organized championships and winning of international medals, the federation that remains and can be best described as the best is the current board of the Scrabble led by Engineer Olobatoke Aka.

There is no other federation that can boast of the quality of the Return-On-Investment (ROI) if this were a business. However, I know too well that when it comes to sponsorship support for the international championships the federations under the aegis of the National Sports Commission (NSC) attend, the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) is definitely an orphan. Each time they return, the NSC leads in celebrating and taking credits for their feat.

I have participated in the sponsorship sourcing of two of the six African Scrabble championships where Nigeria won. I know how we comb the corridors of corporate organisations for support. For days, we go cap in hands morning till night. Having been privileged to be a part of the house since the days of then Colonel Gold Eburu.

Uhn! I was in Ipee (in Kwara State) to see uncle Funsho Alabi but missed him at home. That used to be the weekend rendezvous of scrabble players from Benin, Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna. We play, sleep, eat, drink, play and play scrabble morning, afternoon and night in is house. May God bless him for what he and his ilks did for scrabble. Ifeanyi Uddin, Hakeem Kareem, Femi Awowade, Ganiyu Ajimati, the Esans and several others.

Back to beat. When the NSC came up with their concessionaire project. They ‘donated’ scrabble to one of their friends, Verallen. The man was supposed to pay a paltry five million Naira (which is not enough to organize a championship) to be given the concession of the federation. The man could not pay. He only instructed his bank to fix a draft. It was not even a draft.

That must be when Methuselah was given birth to. He disappeared for good after we debated and had a concensus at the scrabble forum for the board of NSF to pass a vote of no confidence in him. This was done.

Suddenly, we had some of our friends, the notoriously popular “Ranting Nine” (they were initially 10) who decided to try their luck against traditions in the game. They lost out. Got the boot and were suspended. Two of them upon reason prevailing turned back, apologized to the whole house, paid up and got back into the fold.

Meanwhile, the Ranting Nine walked in the cols of libel and defamation. (God knows that if I were in the shoes of Toke Aka, I would have slammed them with a legal suit). They chided and traumatised those they feel were not on their side. They took matter of sports to an extant body, the EFCC, as against prescriptions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to which the Nigerian affiliate and the NSC are tied.

Thence, they took their case to the NSC. The NSC set up a committee to look into the matter. Against the principle of natural justice and simple reasoning, the NSC ordered their ban to be lifted before adjudicating. Haba!

The whole house of scrabble went up in conflagrating opposition. Local rules prevailed and they were advised not to come to Uyo. The next thing we saw was the NSC went into their bags of trickery and “sacked” the board citing some Lugardian provisions under the concessionaire programme. Latest developments show that the NSC is backing the concessionaire to make the “Ranting Eight” (the latest figure of rebels) be on the World Scrabble Championship team.

RESPONSIBLE FATHER: We thought that only fathers who are responsible for the proper and correct upbringing of a child will expect returns from the same children as they age. If the NSC has never been financially responsible for the activities of the NSF, how come they want to control affairs within?

Even gathered (though yet to be confirmed) that the NSC ordered that the world body of Scrabble was to be written to disown the NSF board and withdraw the team scheduled for the game. All because they want to make the Ranting Nine to be a part of the team without meeting the terms on ground.

Like I did say sometimes ago, the NSC can hold the NSF. We, the members of the Scrabble fraternity can leave that body and register a private organization and organize our games and play. Ironically, scrabble and chess are two federations peopled by financially and professional adults unlike any other sport in the country.

Certainly, we are yet to see the end of these new madness and mania in town. How on earth can the NSC impose eight persons on the whole lot of the scrabble community? If reason and commonsense won’t prevail, it is ideal that the Ranting Eight should not come near the community, the day they do there will be blood flow surely.

More will come. Watch out! It is greasy, dirty, mouth gaping and thundering.