Wellington Jighere (born ) is a Nigerian Scrabble player. He won the World Scrabble Championship 2015, the first win for an African nation. He defeated Lewis MacKay in four straight wins.
Jighere is nicknamed "The Cat in the Hat" for his quiet personality and fondness for hats.
Jighere was born , and he grew up in Olomu, the origin point of Scrabble<nowiki/>'s rise in Nigeria beginning in the 1970s. He first played using a cardboard version of the game his brother created. As a teenager, his skill earned him a scholarship. He began playing Scrabble tournaments in 2002, after winning games versus friends in the tournament scene. He participated in the 2007 and 2009 World Scrabble Championships, placing seventh and eleventh, respectively.
Though afflicted with jet lag during the Scrabble World Championship 2015, he won, becoming the first win for both a Nigerian and an African. For his win, he received a congratulatory phone call from president Muhammadu Buhari. He then created and sold the Wellyboard, his version of the Scrabble board. He also received a sponsorship from Canon Inc.
Jighere intended to appear in the World Scrabble Championship 2016, but the French government denied his passport, along with every other member of the Nigerian Scrabble team. Despite this, he continued making his living off Scrabble tournament prize money. He planned to appear at the Scrabble event, at the Nigerian National Sports Festival in March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria caused the competition to be postponed indefinitely. He was unable to find a different job due to the unemployment caused by the pandemic. In December 2020, Jighere announced his retirement from tournament Scrabble due to the pandemic. He unretired in February 2021, appearing at the Nigerian National Sports Festival.
As of 2021, Jighere is married with a son.