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Book Review

My Name is Tani by Tanitoluwa Adewumi

 
Tani's parents Kayode and Oluwatoyin are co-authors.  Each chapter is written by one of the 3 family members telling the story of their life through the eyes of that person.

Tani spent his first 5 years growing up in Nigeria.  His father was a well to do business man, descended from the royal family and he had been reared a Christian. His mother's family owned a profitable printing press and she had been reared as a Muslim.  Oluwaoyin converted to Christianity and her family accepted this.  Life was good for Tani and his family.  The book commences with Tani and his school mates being sent home in the middle of the day from school- Tani and the other students are unaware that life is changing

Boko Haram was gaining control in the country - a group of men came to the printing shop that the father operated.  They wanted posters printed - 'No to Western Education' and 'Kill all Christians'.  The father was not prepared to print these posters, but he realised to say No to these people was a very dangerous decision.  Boko Harams attacks had resulted in airport security at shopping malls, cinemas, and even churches were employing armed masked guards who would check each adult entering the church.  Kayode, the husband, made an excuse that the printing press was no longer working, and he could not do the job.  Shortly after this two men came to the house looking for him, Kayode was not there they terrorized the mother and left.

The family made the decision that they needed to move away.  They moved south a day's drive, but whilst they told no one of their new residence, within a short time people from Boko Haram again found them.

A year earlier the family had made an application to visit America, their visas had been approved, but work was so busy they had put the trip on hold.  Moving to America now seemed the only way of escape.

In America Tani's father is able to work as a dishwasher and later an Uber driver.  The family lives with relatives but this does not work out, they end up surviving in a homeless shelter.  Whilst they have escaped the terrorism of Nigeria, they are now trapped in poverty with little prospect of escaping.

During their time in the homeless shelter the family became connected with a church group that provided support.  Tani & his brother were enrolled at the local school. One of the coaches at the school took an interest in Tani and suggested that he would teach him how to play chess.  The coach and Tani quickly bonded and Tani became a very fast learner in the game of chess.  Very soon Tani was competing in tournaments, and winning trophies.  The coach organized funds for Tani to continue competing and to be able to attend summer camps where Tani was able to hone his skills further with the game of chess. 

Finally, the parents received their social security numbers and work permits.  Kayode was now able to be more proactive in his search for work.  Becoming an Uber driver saw the start of better things for the family.  The coach told the family that Tani had reached the level that he could compete in the State Chess Championship, Tani had only been playing the game for 1 year.  The State Championship ran over several days.  Each day the number of competitors decreased as players were eliminated.  Tani reached the last game of the tournament, and whilst the final game ended in a draw, Tani was declared the New York State Champion.  An 8-year-old boy from Nigeria had reached the top.  It had taken a lot of effort, but he had succeeded.  The family was elated and gave God thanks.

The story of Tani and his rapid rise from a refugee child, to the New York State Chess Champion, reached the media. The coach then encouraged the family to allow him to set up a GoFundMe page for the family to allow them to get out of the homeless shelter, and into an apartment.  The parents were hesitant, but finally agreed. 

Tani's story went global.  Television stations in Germany, Japan, Mexico and China started calling; the Canadian Government sent a beautiful chessboard to Tani.  Back in Nigeria his story was told, and Morocco passed a law that all schoolchildren must be taught chess.

A benefactor contacted the coach and offered to purchase the family a car, then another benefactor made contact and said they would pay the families rent for a year to move into an apartment.

The GoFundMe page reached more than $250,000.  The family decided that as their needs had been met in other ways that the money should go to other families in need, and that it would hopefully transform their lives.

This book allows us to get a greater understanding of what it is to be a refugee, trying to start a new life, in a foreign country.  It shows us how kindness to strangers allows them to grow and blossom, and then how when blessed we can pay our blessing forward to help others.

 
Picture Credit
<https://koorong.com/product/my-name-is-tani-and-i-believe-in_9781400218295>

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