Nigeria’s chess champion, Tunde Onakoya, has shared an emotional story of two brothers he adopted after their mother died and how one of them has now become a chess champion in the United States.
Onakoya, known for using chess to empower underprivileged children, said he met the boys, Jamiu and Ayomide, in 2018 when they were living in the slums of Majidun, Ikorodu, Lagos.
“In 2018, I met Jamiu. He was a curious kid, brilliant and full of light. At the time, he was working as a roadside mechanic… I invited him and his brother Ayomide to our weekend chess academy,” he wrote on his Instagram handle on Monday.
Onakoya said he grew close to the boys and decided to visit their family, adding that there, he met their mother, a kind woman who had lost her leg in an accident while scavenging for plastic bottles to feed her children.
“That’s my mum, he said,” Onakoya recalled. “She was never taken to the hospital as there was no money to sort the medical bills. Her husband had abandoned her as soon as Jamiu was born, so they never met their father.”
In 2019, their mother fell critically ill, according to the chess master.
Onakoya said she made a heartfelt request, “She cried and asked me to take care of her boys if anything happened to her.
Two weeks later, she died.
“That day, I became a father. They moved in with me. We got them back in school. Jamiu became a chess champion and is currently completing his university education. I’ve watched him grow into a remarkable young man. His brother Ayomide, a track and field star, is in his final secondary school year,” he said.
Now, seven years later, Jamiu has achieved a major milestone.
Onakoya disclosed that Jamiu won the ICN Chess Championship in New York, beating over 200 USCF-rated players and securing a $500 scholarship.
“Today, my heart is overwhelmed with a joy words can barely hold… I fought back tears today because I am immensely proud of you. Mama Jamiu, your boys are doing well. I kept my promise. I always will,” he wrote.
