12-Year-Old Nigerian Chess Master, Family Granted Asylum In U.S.
LAGOS DECEMBER 17TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A 12-year-old chess prodigy from Nigeria was granted asylum in America after racking up trophies while homeless in New York City.
The family of chess master Tanitoluwa “Tani” Adewumi was officially given safe haven in the U.S. after fleeing Nigeria in 2017, The Washington Post reports.
“It feels amazing, because it’s been such a long journey,” said Adewumi, whose family applied for asylum in 2019. “I’m just grateful that we’ve gotten this opportunity.”
The family reportedly received their asylum cards on Nov. 30, which will now allow Adewumi to travel and compete internationally.
“It is, in effect, their license to remain in the United States. It allows them to travel internationally,” said Matthew Ingber, who worked alongside a pro bono legal team that handled the family’s asylum case.
“It’s their path to the freedom that they wanted,” he said.
As reported previously by theGrio, Adewumi and his family fled northern Nigeria about five years ago due to fear of the extremist group Boko Haram. They were living in a homeless shelter in New York City when Adewumi joined a chess club at his local public school.
Adewumi rose to fame after setting a record in the state championships at 8 years old when he defeated 73 of the best players in his age group. At the time, the boy and his family were still living in a Manhattan-based homeless shelter.
He became the 28th-youngest national master in the US Chess Federation at age 10, according to CBS News. In 2019, Adewumi made headlines at age 11 while still homeless and on track to becoming the youngest-ever chess grandmaster, the highest title a player can attain after becoming a national master.
The grio
Short URL: https://newsrangers.com/?p=98127
Posted by News Rangers
on Dec 17 2022. Filed under International, National.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
