Chess Master Tunde Onakoya Responds to Claim He Doesn’t Help Anyone Outside His Tribe

Chess master Tunde Onakoya has responded to a man who accused him of not helping anyone outside his tribe. The accusation was made on social media, where the man claimed, “I’ve never seen this guy help anyone outside the Yoruba tribe.”

In his reply, Onakoya used a powerful metaphor to address the issue of division: “If you put a 100 black ants and a 100 red ants in a jar, nothing happens. But if you shake the jar, the ants start killing each other. Each red ant will believe the other black ant is the enemy, but the real enemy is the one who shook the jar.”

Onakoya expressed disappointment over the rising tribalism and bigotry in online conversations, stating, “Someone tagged me ‘ewedu excellence’ on Twitter this morning. The tribalism and bigotry here really saddens me. It never used to be like this.” He concluded his message by urging unity, saying, “I hope you someday see that I am not your enemy. It is those who shake the jar we must fight.”

"If you put a 100 black ants and a 100 red ants in a jar, nothing happens. But if you shake the jar, the ants start killing each other. Each red ant will believe the other black ant is the enemy, but the real enemy is the one who shook the jar”

I’ll pardon your ignorance today. https://t.co/2Dc4UHEjxM

— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) May 3, 2025