Nigeria Chess champion Oladapo Adu has returned home after being stranded abroad for four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Adu, who was returning from the African Chess Championship in Sierra Leone, had been stranded in the Ivorian capital Abidjan since 24 March, when flight restrictions and border closures left him stuck as he attempted to return home.
The 49-year-old had travelled from the USA to Freetown, Sierra Leone but the coronavirus outbreak had become a full-blown pandemic, leading to the ban on flights by countries and the closure of borders.
He was rescued by Simplice Delgundo, another competitor from the tournament, staying with the Ivorian’s friends before moving in with an Ivorian family later before the Nigerian ambassador to Ivory Coast, Mohammed Gana intervened after several reports of Adu’s case in the media.
“It was tough living with strangers in a strange land – having to depend on them for your survival,” he told the BBC. “But I am grateful to them. They took care of me for months even when it was not convenient for them.”
“He said my case had been on the news and he knew he had to intervene.”
Adu is now participating in the on-going Online Chess Olympiad competition, which runs to 30 August despite being disappointed that the Nigerian Chess Federation enlisted him for the championship while still stranded in Abidjan.
