Nigerian chess champion and Guinness World Record holder, Tunde Onakoya, has responded to public backlash over his recent visit to President Bola Tinubu, insisting that his mission remains youth empowerment, not political alignment.
Onakoya, founder of Chess in Slums Africa, made this clarification in a statement shared via his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday. He emphasized that being acknowledged by Nigeria’s president should not be mistaken for a political endorsement.
“To be honoured and received by the President and the highest office in my own country, for this reason, is not a crime,” Onakoya stated. “It is not even a national honour, by the way.”
The chess advocate, recently recognised by the City of New York after setting a global record, dismissed comparisons between his visit and others’ endorsements of controversial governments as “laughable.” He revealed that he has declined many awards in the past and made it clear he has no interest in partisan politics.
“If that ever changes,” he said, “then I would resign my role as CEO of Chess in Slums Africa.”
Onakoya rejected claims that his initiative only thrives due to poor governance, saying Chess in Slums exists to restore dignity to street children through education and cognitive development.
“We’re using chess as a tool to teach cognition and improve academic outcomes. Using it as a social intervention tool is because those children have fallen through the cracks and cannot make it to the classrooms,” he explained. “This is not charity or NGO work. It’s transformation.”
He further explained that the organisation focuses on equipping children with critical thinking skills, not just sharing their stories for sympathy or applause.
Onakoya also revealed that Chess in Slums Africa has never received international grants in its seven years of operation. He credited much of the initiative’s progress to community support and ongoing collaboration with the Lagos State Government, especially in efforts to rehabilitate children from areas like Jakande and Isale Eko.
“One of the kids we took off the street has graduated from furniture school and is now building a new life,” he said.
Despite the mixed reactions, Onakoya insisted that public love or criticism will not sway his convictions. “I embrace the love and the hate. But I care for none of it,” he wrote. “In a decade or two, the Chess/STEM institute will stand, and thousands of children will dream again. All the strong opinions we have now will fall flat in the face of this.”
He closed by urging the public not to confuse social media perception with real character and affirmed that his commitment to serving Nigerian children has been unwavering for the past ten years.
“My fight is different. I took a stand ten years ago for the country I want to see,” he wrote. “Whatever rooms my vision gives me access to, I will put the dreams and needs of the children first. I live for the audience of one—and that is enough.”
