In a fitting tribute to a year of unprecedented achievement, Style Pro Magazine has unveiled its December cover star: Nigerian chess champion and philanthropist Tunde Onakoya.
The feature, titled “THE BECOMING,” frames Onakoya’s life as a profound narrative of resilience, shaped by “survival, sacrifice, wonder, and the relentless refusal to be defined by beginnings”.
The magazine’s poignant caption highlights the stark contrasts of his origin: a boy who survived against a “cruel statistic” as a child of parents with the sickle cell trait, and a son whose mother “swept classrooms she never sat in, so her son could sit in the ones she cleaned”. This early sacrifice, as Onakoya has confirmed in interviews, was his foundational compass.
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From Pawn to King: The Engine of a Movement
The feature arrives on the heels of a landmark period for the 31-year-old. In April 2024, he broke the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, playing for over 60 hours in New York’s Times Square. Far from a mere stunt, the marathon was a strategic initiative to raise $1 million for children’s education in Africa.
This global recognition is rooted in the transformative work of Chess in Slum Africa, the non-profit he founded in 2018. The initiative uses chess to promote intellectual empowerment and social change by teaching critical thinking to children in underserved communities, including Makoko, Majidun, and Oshodi. Through it, Onakoya has facilitated academic scholarships and changed life trajectories, most notably by discovering 10-year-old chess prodigy Ferdinand, who has cerebral palsy.
The Man Beneath the Symbol
The magazine delves beyond the accolades to explore the man’s philosophy. Onakoya describes his driving force as a “stubborn, defiant hope” and sees his life as a “scandal of many graces”. He has openly spoken about the weight of being seen as an unbreakable public symbol, while privately navigating the same fears and exhaustion as anyone else.
His personal style, particularly his signature Yoruba cap (Fìlà), is presented as an intentional act of storytelling—a declaration of cultural pride and a symbol he shares with the children in his programs, reminding them that their identity is not their poverty but their possibility.
A Legacy in Motion
Today, Onakoya stands as one of Africa’s most compelling modern icons. His story, which began in a barbershop in Ikorodu, is now a global masterclass in how purpose can redirect destiny.
As Style Pro Magazine captures him in this moment of reflection and celebration, the narrative is straightforward: Tunde Onakoya’s “becoming” is an ongoing process. His ultimate goal transcends chess; he dreams of building “the world’s largest free school” and wishes to be remembered as “the man who created access”.
The boy from the creeks has not only reached global stages but is dedicated to building a wider road for others to follow.
