Some of their fellow students, friends, lecturers and acquaintances can hardly tell them part as they share many physical similarities and traits. But David and Daniel Oyakhilome , twin brothers who are both undergraduates of the Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA say there are some differences in their traits in spite of the similarities that can easily be seen.
But what they and those who know them closely say they have in common is the passion for Chess. They play the game with professional dexterity and have represented the University in some competitions winning laurels in the process.
Come into their exciting world:
What are your names and what are you studying in FUTA?
Daniel: My name is Daniel Oise Oyakhilome. I am studying Industrial Design in the school of Environmental Technology.
David: David Oise Oyakhilome. My nick name is Dalods; both of us are called the strange brothers. I am studying Applied Geophysics in the School of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
What extracurricular activities do you engage in?
Daniel: I am a professional chess player and I’m currently a member of the school’s official chess team. I love to visit the chess club in my free time to have fun playing the game and also do some training. Asides that, I’ve also ventured into politics as I’m currently an honourable member of the Students Representative Council representing IDD constituency 1 in the 37th assembly. The extracurricular activities have s helped to build me up in various ways in which focusing on studies alone could not.
David: I’m a professional chess player, and also the current Captain of the FUTA chess team. I’m also into politics, as I am the current Vice president of my department, SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists)
Have you represented the university? What did you win?
Daniel: Yes we have. We represented the school in chess at the 26th NUGA games, 2022 in Unilag and we won a Gold medal for the school.
Do you share related common goals?
Yes, Aside from our collective goal to be successful in our individual fields of study, we are both aiming to become Grandmasters in chess.
What are your physical similarities?
David: We have the shape of eyes, nose, ears and the same body shape. Also, we always dress the same way. We do this intentionally and we get to choose together what we plan to wear for the day and it must be the same. We have mostly been wearing the same clothes every day since birth as our lovely mother wanted it.
What are your physical differences?
Daniel: David is slightly taller than me; He is also slightly fatter than me. David has a wider face, while I have a bigger forehead.
David: Different shape of our forehead, I have a small mark beneath my eye, while Daniel doesn’t. Our smiles are different also
Are there ways people can tell you apart? Aside from your physical similarities (disposition)?
David: Yeah, I am a bit more jovial and friendlier than Daniel; Daniel is more gentle and reserved
Daniel: Yes, David is more jovial and friendlier than me, while I’m the gentle and reserved one.
Are there special attractions to you as twins?
Daniel: Yes. Almost everywhere we go, we can always feel the multiple eyes gazing at us in awe and most times we dress the same way from top to bottom, drawing a lot of attention. Also, we get to hear from a lot of people about how they love twins and they would like to have one. We have been approached by people, mostly women asking us to touch their stomachs and pray for them to give birth to twins. Sometimes when we would go out with our mom, there would be people showering prayers on her and on us as well. There have also been times where people gifted us with various things like, money and clothes with the aim of “sowing seeds to give birth to twins”. And there are people who want to be friends with us just because we are twins.
What is the physical make up of your family?
David:We are a family of seven consisting of my Dad and um and three elder sisters then Daniel and I as the last born and we get doted on a lot by our family members because of this.
What ways have being twins helped you in life?
Daniel: There are a lot of ways in which being a twin has helped me in life, in fact I sometimes ask myself, “what if I wasn’t a twin?, How would I have been able to achieve some things. First of all, comfort. There are times where I would need someone to talk to and he is always there to listen which are quite relieving. And I can say that we know most things about each other as we always have quiet times to talk about life.
Secondly, academically. Since our primary and secondary school days when we got to do similar subjects, whenever it was time for tests or exams, we always studied together; helping each other to understand some things we were taught. Even up to our university days, we still do it and I would say it has helped to make life easy at some point.
And I would say, being a twin has really helped to navigate life. Honestly it made it easier. Whenever we want to make certain decisions, we would always consult each other to make sure we are on the right track. Also knowing that you have someone to Cook for you when it is not your turn is quite comforting, Or to wash clothes or do the dishes, because we have a roster for it, if it is my turn today then it is David’s turn tomorrow. This has also helped to reduce any dispute or arguments between us. Fun fact: we have never engaged in physical brawls since we were kids, we only argue and settle immediately as mom and dad would always want. Thank you very much.
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