Charity

Believer. Data Analyst. Leadership enthusiast. Interested in NGO management.

[U.S. Mission Nigeria @USinNigeria]

#ThisWeekInUSNigeriaHistory in 2025, Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya made history by breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon alongside American chess master Shawn Martinez in Times Square, New York.

#DYK Tunde is a U.S. Government Exchange Program alumnus. He’s one of 14,000+ exchange alumni in Nigeria driving impact across U.S.–Nigeria life, culture, and collaboration.
#Freedom250

Photo credit: Chess in Slums Africa

[Africa Facts Zone @AfricaFactsZone]

Nigerian Chess Player, Tunde Onakoya is the first African To win the Lideramos Youth Award For Social Impact in Spain 🇪🇸.

He won the Corporate Chess Championship in Malawi 🇲🇼 with a perfect 7/7 score.

He went viral for winning 10 chess games at once at the DLD Conference in Germany 🇩🇪 in 2024.

He also holds the Guinness World Record for the Longest Chess Marathon.

[Dr Cappa @Omotayo11510]

“…this is why Westerners don't rate us”

Why are you living for the gaze of Westerners or pining for them to rate you? Perhaps Tunde decided to live his life however he wanted, without caring for your validation, fickle endorsement and facile opinion.

[Charity @CharityAkpan_]

@AmadiSinachii @lordmiles You have no shame. No dignity

[Dr Cappa @Omotayo11510]

They resented him for the one thing they couldn't replicate: a heart vast enough to champion the forgotten ones through his brilliant, tireless advocacy.

Because they couldn’t publicly disparage his success, they buried their envy beneath a veneer of hollow flattery.

It took only a single caption to unmask the wolves. Now, he moves with a new clarity, fully aware of the predators trailing his shadow and the praise that hides their venom-filled teeth.

[Charity @CharityAkpan_]

Don't bring the people of Uyo into this your madness .. How has your chess skill impacted any life??... Sit your ass down

[𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓓𝓻𝓮𝔂 👑 @lorddrey]

Tunde is a chess Master. I am a chess Master, my cousin Martins is a Chess Master, my cousin's friend Victor Mfon is a Chess Master.

I know like 20 other people in Uyo alone who are chess Masters.

Why does this guy parade himself like a grandmaster?

I'm not even sure this guy can beat me in classical chess (Yes, I admit I'm a weak hand at Blitz).

Even Magnus Carlsen with a rating of 2840 does not make this kind of noise.

This guy is not even in the top 100 Chess Masters in Nigeria.

What the actual fhuck is going on in Nigeria?

[Abdulkadir | Cybersecurity @cyber_razz]

Let’s be real for a second before anyone opens their mouth to hate, they should probably check what they’ve actually done with their own life first.

Tunde Onakoya isn’t just “a chess guy.” He’s someone who took a skill he learned in a barber shop and turned it into a movement that’s changing lives.

He’s the founder of Chess in Slums Africa…..a project that uses chess as a tool to get kids off the streets and into classrooms. Not theory. Not tweets. Actual impact.

Let’s talk facts:

>He set a Guinness World Records record with a 60-hour chess marathon in Times Square
>Has helped over 10,000 children access education and better opportunities
>Secured scholarships for kids who had zero chance before
>Runs outreach programs in places most people wouldn’t even step foot in
>Ranked among Nigeria’s top chess players
>Won major chess competitions
>Featured on global platforms like CNN and BBC
>Recognized as a top social entrepreneur in Africa
>Listed among the most impactful Africans
>Uses his platform to raise funds and awareness for education across the continent

Now here’s the part people don’t like hearing.

Social media especially platforms like 𝕏 is filled with people who:

•Have never built anything
• Have never helped anyone
• Have never taken a real risk

…but somehow have the loudest opinions.

You’ll see someone literally changing lives, and the replies will still be:

“Nobody cares”
“This is overrated”
“Clout chasing” etc

And it’s like… okay.

Because the truth is simple:

It’s easier to tweet than to build.
It’s easier to criticize than to contribute.
It’s easier to sit back than to sacrifice.

Someone like Tunde is out here doing real work…impacting real people…while a lot of the noise comes from people who haven’t even tried to do anything meaningful.

One thing I’ve learnt from my time on this platform is to take a lot of these so called “criticism” with a pinch of salt.

Not all opinions are equal.
And not everyone deserves a seat at the table of your self doubt.

If you’re building something…whether it’s tech, cybersecurity, content, whatever….just keep going.

Because visibility attracts noise.

And most of that noise?
It’s coming from people who wouldn’t last a day doing what you do.

[Oloye. @Ol0ye]

Does this include when he was living in a one bedroom and using his money to adopt and take care of the kids a lot of you scuff your noses at?

Or it's only after he's getting recognition for the work he's done without fanfare for over a decade?

You people need to stop feeling threatened by other people's success especially if you don't have the temerity to do what they did to get it.

[Charity @CharityAkpan_]

@dashboardlim Design

[Osaretin Victor Asemota @asemota]

Talk is always cheap. I have been gritting my teeth and refraining from saying very unpleasant things to the lazy logic behind all the attacks.

@Tunde_OD plays Chess at global championship levels. If you understand Chess at all, you will give him credit for having more agency and foresight than most humans alive. He has his life strategy and doesn't have to explain each move; otherwise, he wouldn't be one of the best at what he does.

I have learned so much from the way he sold those custom chessboards. It was brilliant and masterful. That move alone has raised more money for the causes he supports than waiting for handouts ever would. People who should be learning are criticizing aimlessly.

Yes, he would likely become a billionaire because he understands products and branding on a level most people can only dream about. Becoming one will make him a philanthropist rather than a recipient of philanthropy. We are watching his opening gambit.

Watch him and learn instead of jumping up and down like a pack of... let me calm down. This thing has really upset me. I am disappointed in many.

[Chidi Okereke @Chydee]

this campaign of calumny against Tunde O is lazy at best.

not everyone has the luxury of alignment. some people do work that cuts across divides - work that may collapse the moment it’s seen as partisan. in that position, neutrality is not cowardice; it’s a requirement for the work to survive and achieve its objectives.

“but he has taken a side”.

meanwhile, it’s a picture with the president of his country. an honorary ambassadorship from his state. opportunity to speak with young people (his primary target) at an event - organized by the president’s son.

guess who else has a picture with the president. guess who else is a sports ambassador for Ogun state. guess who else was invited to speak at that event (Tunde didn’t even attend) that people are not dragging.

what are we doing?

if you’re doing impactful work, people across political divides will court you. people across the world will court you. you will be in rooms with people you like and those you loathe. and for the sake of the work, you will chest it.

because the work is bigger than your personal politics.

and the idea that he needs Nigeria to stay bad so he can have more slum kids is … laughable. his work isn’t about preserving slums. it’s about developing people - through chess - discipline, how they think, opportunity, etc. that doesn’t disappear if things improve. and no matter who the president is, Nigeria will never run out of underserved communities. infact, the world will never run out of it.

you’re forcing politics on something that isn’t built for it. and judging a constraint you don’t carry.

if you think you’d do it differently, oya do it. build something impactful, take your stance, and sustain it.

until then, it’s just noise. lazy noise. 🙂‍↔️

[jonzing. @ehisssss]

incase you weren't raised correctly, i think it’s a mans job to set the tone in a relationship; whether people want to admit it or not, a woman feeds off his energy.. his consistency, his intentions, his presence. she takes what he gives and reflects it. when a man leads with clarity, love, and respect, it creates a space where a woman can feel safe, soft, and secure. vice versa, when he leads with confusion, mixed signals, and inconsistency, it forces her to operate in survival mode. she becomes guarded, unsure, and emotionally exhausted.

[Nae @NaesCloset]

Please don’t “give yourself grace” to the point of never actually activating or accomplishing goals.

[Ìfẹ́ @diaryofa9jagirl]

Dang! Lifestyle is not my calling.

The company I built. The skincare and fragrance brand you know me for. The one doing millions of dollars in revenue. It is not my calling.

[Gabrielle Blair @designmom]

We didn’t fight to work. Women have ALWAYS worked. We fought to get paid.

[Simon Thazhigilla Simon🇳🇬 @Thazhigilla_]

You will never be the wealthiest in your state, not in Nigeria, not in Africa, not in this world, if you don't read this! And listen, it is not your fault.

Calm down before you start dragging my ‘okrika’ shirt. This is not a curse (me sef come from humble background), I simply wish to highlight something you might be overlooking.

I know you've consumed those 1,000 books by American billionaires, you even used your last penny to buy Otedola's book, you've gone through Tony Robbins seminars on YouTube while sprinkling two drops of ‘e go better one day’. I know you’ve attended conferences everywhere, you've starved your distractions, networked like your life depends on it (spoiler: it actually does like mähhddd), invested in courses that promise "financial freedom", and consistently showed up even on days when your spirit is screaming to give up.

But what if I told you the game was already rigged before you even started?
The Aliko Dangote you want to become had an uncle named Alhaji Dantata Alhassan. A whole family line of affluence handed him a beginning crafted in silver. Femi Otedola’s daddy (Michael Otedola) transitioned from politics to become the governor of Lagos. And you’ll be the one to shout ‘school na scam when you are literally the punchline. Mr Eazi’s uncle borrowed him 19 million naira to go and invest. And he failed ooo. Do you understand? He had the financial cushion to try and fail. Davido was sent abroad to study and ended up pursuing music. His dad brought him back, and Babcock University created an entirely new department of music just for him before his father eventually backed his musical career.

The truth is that you were built like a snail, whereas they were engineered like horses to start the race at the finish line. So even if you embarked on your journeys and struggles yesterday, you will always arrive after them. I acknowledge that you are not lazy; eyes cannot simply see the weight of the shell you carry. That shell symbolizes the absence of generational wealth and influential connections. It is a system engineered to favor those who are already favoured.

I was listening to Dr. Cosmas Maduka when he said that the cheapest car they have at Coscharis Group is around 32 million naira, and if an average person walks in requesting to pay in installments over two weeks, they will not give it to you. But see the crazy twist. He mentioned that if Dangote himself called them and asked them to let you have a Rolls Royce valued at 1.4 billion naira, they would allow you to drive it away.
And you think name, you think foundations, do not count? 😹

Connections are important like maaaahddd. Hard work will carry you far, yes, but not to the height you see in your dreams.

This thing is everywhere ooo... I was conducting my personal research on matching into a USA residency as an International Medical Grad(IMG). Let's say you wanted a prestigious specialty like Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery etc. The slots available to you are so extraordinarily competitive that your chances are nearly zero (the probability of an IMG matching in Neurological Surgery in 2022 was 16 out of 36,277, or 0.044105%).

Then I looked up Harvard Medical School's match rate for 2024. Out of their 176 inducted doctors, 155 got matched into their choiced residency. Dem no born me well to think of schooling in Harvard Medical school with my papa money 📷, but what is obvious is just breathing the air at Harvard gives you a head start the size of the Atlantic Ocean…

This is not a post to make you give up. It is a post to make you wise up.
But here is where I get aggressive: shred the sham celebration!
You are not lazy my guy, you’ve just been outpaced by those born at the finish line. The snail doesn’t win by racing the horse. No, the snail wins by forming alliances, by being so strategic that it gets to ride on the horse’s back.
Were there outliers? Absolutely. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie clawed her way from Enugu to global shelves without a dynasty. But even she got lifts: scholarships, mentors who saw the fire in her and offered petrol. No one rises in isolation; that myth of being ‘’self-made’’ is what keeps you scrambling in the dark. You will never, ever accomplish it alone.

You may not be Dangote? That’s okay and beautiful 🤭. Your goal should be to become the ‘Dantata’ of your own lineage. You are the one who must break the cycle. You serve as the foundation and your duty is to work ten times harder and smarter, not to compete with the horse, but to create a stable where your generation can start side by side with it.

You may not reach the destination you dream of but you can be the one who charts the course, who lays the first stone, who ensures that those who come after you will never know the unbearable burden of starting from scratch.

That legacy is a currency richer than naira, more powerful than a name.

[Nathaniel Bassey @nathanielblow]

Spiritual warfare 101 - No matter how overwhelmed you “feel” inside, never show the devil. You see, the devil is NOT Omniscient, so he does not know all things. The things he knows about us are things said and spoken of us. Or the things we let out from our mouths ourselves or by our reactions and actions. So while you may be overwhelmed in your soul, the way he gets to know is from your reaction. And because he is a wicked and oppressive entity, when he knows where it hurts, he robs it in the more.

But responding in praise confounds him. This is exactly the rationale behind the idea that praise confuses the enemy. Because he can’t understand why his onslaught is not causing you to give up and give in.

So beloved saints of God, regardless how you feel right now, find a way to release your praise !

“14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.”
Psalm 71:14.

You are BLESSED 🙂

[Charity @CharityAkpan_]

@richtosho Ready

[Charity @CharityAkpan_]

I bought this book after watching Mr Olushola's recent podcast with Mr Olumide @OtunbaSho . I watched that episode 2x, and I know I will be watching it many more times. Thank you @OtunbaSho for pouring out yourself. There's not one of Olushola's podcasts I haven't watched. Kudos

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

Every once in a while, a ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are many reasons she may do this. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind. These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. Their spirit is broken. These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the Shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone. So, do you know what the Shepherd does? He takes that rejected little one into His home, hand-feeds it and keeps it warm by the fire. He will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to His chest so the bummer can hear His heartbeat. Once the lamb is strong enough, the Shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock. But that sheep never forgets how the Shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. When the Shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to Him first? That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows His voice intimately. It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the One who loves it and has experienced that love one on one. So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But He is the good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heartbeat. I am a bummer lamb adopted and loved by The Good Shepherd!! Hallelujah!!