32-year old Nigerian, Wellington Jighere made history earlier today as the first ever African to emerge as the world scrabble champion, which was held in Perth, Australia.
Wellington beat 129 competitors to win the championship, defeating Englishman Lewis MacKay with four straight wins in the best-of-seven final round.
In a tweet by presidential spoke-person, Garba Shehu, president Buhari has called the young man to congratulate him.
Read more as well as the tweet after the jump!!!
Speaking to Guardian Australia after his win, Jighere says he has
undergone fatigue training to mitigate the effects of jet-lag, and
forgone employment for the past four months to prepare for the
championship.Combating nerves and fatigue were the main objectives of the new world champion, who had previously played in two other world championships, placing third in Mumbai in 2007 and 11th in Malaysia in 2009. He was sponsored by the Nigerian government to come to Perth and expects a hero’s welcome on his return. He’ll be bringing home a $10,000 cash prize.
“It is the first time that an African has won in these world championships so I have to go and celebrate with them,” Jighere says.
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