• Thursday, May 09, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Chess master Tunde Onakoya recounts how father struggled to get him education

Who is Tunde Onakoya

Tunde Onakoya, who recently attempted to break the Guinness World Record for longest chess Marathon by playing chess for 60 hours recounts how his father struggled to pay his WAEC fees.

He replied a post on his X page in 2022 in celebration of Fathers’ day. He said, “My Dad sold the car he used as a Taxi so I could pay my WAEC examination fee on deadline day.

“It was an incredibly painful sacrifice because this affected him to a point where he had to leave Lagos and go back to the village to work in a bakery.

“He always told us he had no regrets because he wanted us to get the education he never had.

“This low key put me under immense pressure as everyone had high hopes that Tunde was going to become a Medical doctor and save his family from poverty.

“You can imagine how devastating it was for everyone when I didn’t gain admission to study medicine despite all the sacrifices my parents made. Everything spiralled from there but that’s a story for another day.

“Happy Father’s day Celeto.
God took the strength of a mountain, the patience of eternity and combined them to create you.
I’ll never stop making you proud.
Love you always Pops”