Culture

Ooni of Ife Welcomes Tunde Onakoya for The King’s Move Chess Initiative, Rewards Students

Published

1 year ago

June 17, 2025

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, hosted chess champion Tunde Onakoya for “The King’s Move” inter-school chess contest in Ile-Ife, praising youth empowerment and distributing ₦1.6 million to students and teachers

The Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, on Monday welcomed celebrated chess champion and founder of Chess in Slums Africa, Tunde Onakoya, to the Ile-Oodua Palace, Ile-Ife.

Also read: Akwa Ibom promotes arts, culture, language revival at children’s summit

The visit was for a remarkable inter-school chess initiative titled “The King’s Move.”

Organised in collaboration with the Hopes Alive Initiative, a foundation championed by Queen Temitope Morenike Ogunwusi, the event brought together 14 secondary school students from across Ile-Ife.

These students participated in a spirited chess contest with Onakoya himself.

In his address, the Ooni praised Onakoya’s grassroots chess initiative, hailing it as a transformative tool for youth empowerment and intellectual development, especially among disadvantaged children.

“I commend Tunde Onakoya for wielding the power of chess to inspire greatness. This initiative fosters critical thinking, resilience and leadership in our youth,” the monarch said.

He also applauded Queen Temitope and her foundation for actively cultivating young minds through education and innovation.

Onakoya, visibly moved by the royal reception, expressed profound gratitude for the support and urged the participating students to remain determined and focused.

I commend Tunde Onakoya for wielding the power of chess to inspire greatness. This initiative fosters critical thinking, resilience and leadership in our youth.

He added, “Chess is more than a game—it sharpens the mind and builds decision-making capacity.”

To further motivate the participants, the Ooni announced a ₦500,000 cash reward to be shared among all the competing students.

The overall winner, Toyosi Samuel of Eleve Academy, Oranfe, received a special prize of ₦100,000, while the accompanying teachers were awarded a collective ₦1 million.

In total, Oba Ogunwusi disbursed ₦1.6 million, a gesture widely applauded as both timely and morale-boosting. One grateful teacher described it as “a rekindling of hope for educators.”

Also read:Ogun cultural heritage promotion gains private sector backing

In a symbolic climax to the event, the Ooni presented a specially crafted artwork to Onakoya in honour of his exceptional impact on youth development through chess. The gesture was met with heartfelt appreciation from the chess master.

Up Next

Kaduna tourism cultural hub plan will promote heritage, global unity

Don't Miss

Ogun cultural heritage promotion gains private sector backing

Click to comment

Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”