World Chess record holder Tunde Onakoya has sparked conversation online after sharing a personal reflection on X (Twitter) about how a decision made by his secondary school teachers significantly altered the direction of his life.
Onakoya revealed that one of his greatest regrets was being discouraged from pursuing the Arts, despite his passion for debates and dreams of becoming a lawyer.
According to him, teachers at his school insisted that the Science class was reserved for the brightest students, while the Arts class was wrongly portrayed as a place for underperformers.
“One of my greatest regrets in life was letting the teachers in my secondary school convince us that Art class was for dullards and science class for the smartest students. I was excellent at debates, loved words, and really wanted to be lawyer but they wouldn’t let me. They made that choice for me before I understood what it meant. I’m pretty sure this was a moment that altered the trajectory of the lives of so many Nigerian kids.” His tweet read
Onakoya added that the system did not only affect him but likely changed the destiny of so many Nigerian kids who were pushed into academic paths they did not choose.
His post has since generated reactions online, with many Nigerians echoing similar experiences and criticising what the long-standing bias within the country’s educational system.
