I wanted him to be a doctor – Tunde Onakoya’s father

Pa Onakoya, the father of Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya, who recently broke a Guinness World Record, has revealed that he initially wasn’t in support of his son playing chess.

He revealed that when Tunde was a growing child, he wanted him to be a medical doctor and used to disrupt his chess games to make him focus on his education.

Mr Onakoya made the disclosure during a chat with City Edge TV when he joined his wife and many others at Lagos airport to welcome Tunde on Wednesday,.

The proud father man further used his experience to advise other parents to not discourage their children from embracing their passions.

He expressed amazement that the boy he wanted to be a doctor has now become popular all because of his proficiency at chess.

Pa Onakoya said; “To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because whatever he set his mind on you must succeed.

“As a small child, when Tunde was playing chess, I usually packed everything away from him because I wanted him to focus on school. I didn’t know that it was what would made him popular like this.

“My advice for parents is that they shouldn’t to discourage their children from their passions. I wanted Tunde to be a doctor but I didn’t know that chess would make him popular like this. I thank God.”

Tunde Onakoya recently broke the Guinness World Record for the longest-ever chess marathon with a time of 60 hours at Times Square in New York, United States.

The record was previously held by Norwegian players, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56 hours 9 minutes in 2018.