Pa Onakoya, the father of Nigerian chess prodigy Tunde Onakoya, has disclosed that he initially opposed his son's involvement in chess.
He admitted that during Tunde's childhood, he would interrupt his chess sessions to redirect his focus towards academics.
In a sideline interview with City Edge TV at Lagos airport on Wednesday, where he joined his wife and many others to give the Guinness World Record-breaker a heroic welcome, the proud father shared, “To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because whatever he sets his mind to, he succeeds.
“As a young child, whenever Tunde played chess, I would often remove everything to encourage him to concentrate on school. Little did I know that it would lead to his fame like this.
“My advice to parents is to not discourage their children from pursuing their passions. I had hoped Tunde would become a doctor, but I never imagined chess would elevate him like this. I thank God.”
Tunde Onakoya recently shattered the Guinness World Record for the longest-ever chess marathon, clocking in at 60 hours at Times Square in New York, United States.
He surpassed the previous record set by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56 hours and 9 minutes in 2018.