Stranded Nigerian chess player 'broken and traumatised'

Top Nigerian chess player Oladapo Adu has said he is “traumatised” as he remains stranded in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 12 weeks after being stuck outside his home country as the border closed for the coronavirus lockdown.

He has been stranded in the Ivorian city since 24 March, when flight restrictions and a spate of border closures brought in to contain the pandemic left him stuck as he attempted to return home from a tournament.

He is currently staying with friends of another competitor from the tournament, Ivorian Simplice Delgundo.

"This is so traumatising and demoralising - I am living with strangers in a strange land,” Adu told BBC Sport Africa.

Adu had travelled from the USA to Freetown, Sierra Leone where he represented Nigeria at the Zone 4.2 Individual Chess Championship which ended on 20 March.

But by this point the coronavirus outbreak had become a full-blown pandemic, leading to the ban on flight travels by countries and the closure of borders.

Unable to connect a flight from Freetown to Lagos, Adu embarked on a road trip to Lagos - but was not allowed into Ghana at the Ivory Coast-Ghana border by Ghanaian police.

"The coronavirus had been in the news but not serious to stop the championship from going on," Adu explained.

Adu was returning from the Zone 4.2 Individual Chess Championship

"Suddenly, the situation heightened and we had to end the championship on the 20 March. My return flight was scheduled for 22 March but Air Cote d’ivoire cancelled all its flights due to the pandemic.”

Adu had been looking to cement his place as Africa’s top chess player. He holds the record as the only player to have won the championship back to back.

But he said he is “disappointed and broken” with the treatment he has received from the Chess Federation and the Nigerian Government.

“I left the USA to Freetown to represent Nigeria and this is all I get for it - nothing," he said.

"This is a tournament I have won twice in the past. On record, I am the only player that has won this tournament back to back.

“I am disappointed and broken. I have to control my emotions - I have so much bottled up in me.”

This article was originally published by BBC News. Photo: BBC.