Nkeiruka Ezekh, black Russian of Igbo-Nigerian heritage is participating and representing her country Russia, the host of 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She will be participating in the Curling competition at Winter Olympics.
This is not the first time Nkeiruka will be representing Russia in Olympics; history was made in 2006 when she became the first black person to represent Russia for curling competition in Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy.
“At the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy, she was part of Ludmila Privivova’s team. A year later her team won the 2006 European Curling Championships. She also represented Russia in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as second on Privivkova’s team.” ( Wikepedia)
Nkeiruka Ezekh was born in Moscow, Russia, to an Igbo-Nigerian father and Russian mother in October 17, 1983. She is a practicing software
Engineer and studied Engineering, Information Technology at Moscow Aviation Institute, Russia and 1997 she took up curling in Moscow on the recommendation of one of her mother’s friend.
In describing herself she said, “I’m an ordinary Russian girl… with a few added features. My dad was Nigerian; he studied at Moscow State University. He met my mum, who was an engineering student, at a party.
Between them, a romance grew up; I really don’t know the details of it all. When I wasn’t even a year old, my father received his diploma and returned to Nigeria, and my mother didn’t go with him because she had to care for me. Soon afterwards, we lost contact with him. Later, when we moved into a new apartment, we sent him a letter, but we received no reply. Apparently, he also changed his address. I’ve never been to Africa. True, my mother and I holidayed in the Canary Islands, which are near Africa, but, besides that, the closest I‘ve been is in Italy.
Previously, I wanted to communicate with my father, but now, he’s probably lost for good. I never really lived with him, and I don’t remember him. There was only a picture on the piano of when I was baptised… a lot of people, many of them were Africans, too, students, like my dad.”
Nkeiruka Ezekh was later awarded the title of Honoured Master of Sport in Russia and she had won several gold medals in the Curling European Championship competitions. She is a proud and patriotic Russian, enamored of her Igbo and African heritage.
Emeka Chiakwelu, Principal Policy Strategist at AFRIPOL. His works have appeared in Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Forbes and many other important journals around the world. His writings have also been cited in many economic books, publications and many institutions of higher learning including tagteam Harvard Education. Africa Political & Economic Strategic Center (AFRIPOL) is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa.
To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa. info@afripol.org, www.afripol.org,
Written By Emeka Chiakwelu
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