Tunde Onakoya, a renowned Nigerian chess master, has promised to fund the education of a young girl seen in a viral video helping her mother sweep the streets of Lagos.
The video, which sparked widespread attention, captured the 11-year-old girl working alongside her mother on a street in Ikoyi. Human rights activist JustAdetoun criticised the mother for allowing her daughter to engage in the task, calling it “child labour,” and warned that the mother could face job loss if the situation continued.
However, Onakoya, in a post shared on X, expressed his disapproval of the public shaming of the woman in front of her daughter. Reflecting on his own struggles growing up, the chess master shared that his mother had done similar work, such as sweeping houses and gutters, to provide for their family.
As the founder of Chess-In-Slums, Onakoya emphasised that what the mother and daughter truly needed was compassion and support, rather than judgement. He went on to offer to pay for the girl’s education, ensuring she would have the opportunity to attend university.
“Extremely cruel to humiliate a mother in front of her daughter like this. Even worse that this was recorded and posted on social media,” he wrote.
“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.”
