NEWS LEVERAGE

Chess player and instructor Tunde Onakoya has offered to train an 11-year-old girl whose mother faced public humiliation for bringing her to sweep the estate during school hours after an Activist, Adetoun, made a post accusing her of child labour.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Onakoya shared how his own mother had to sweep houses in 2016 to support his education, and he expressed his distress over the financial struggles his family faced. He stated that he would like to train the girl through to university, provided that no one else has already taken on this responsibility.

“Extremely cruel to humiliate a mother in front of her daughter like this. Even worse that this was recorded and posted on social media.

My mother used to sweep people’s houses and gutters in 2016. It hurt too much that I could do nothing financially to stop her. I often insisted on going with her, just to help fetch the water she needed so we could finish quicker and get back home before daylight. I didn’t want anyone to see us. The poverty that pushes one to hide their labour in the dark is a painful one.

Yes, that child should not be working. But more than outrage, what she and her mother deserve is compassion. The only humane response is to help.

If no one has done this already, I would like to take full responsibility for the girl’s education through university. I hope this eases their burden in some way. These are incredibly hard times.

Our Privilege blinds us in ways we’ll never truly understand.”

Mr. Onakoya runs a program called “Chess in Slums,” where he impacts the lives of underserved communities by teaching them chess and giving them opportunities to excel in the field. He has also sponsored several young players to compete in the United States, including children who society had previously labelled as incapable or inept.

Meanwhile, the activist traced the woman to her house and apologized for the public humiliation while placing the woman on salary apart from the N19,000 she’s paid monthly by the estate.