By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye
He grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America, he played baseball and football before starting basketball due to his height. He loves music and plays piano since first grade, but despite the distance between Africa and America, he has strong sporting and educational attachment to young children in Nigeria.
This is the story of Ezekiel Tobechukwu "Zeke" Nnaji, an American professional basketball star who plays for Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Zeke Nnaji, born some 24 years ago is determined to help less privileged young Nigerians children to combine education and sport seamlessly in order to add value to their lives, communities and country.
Nnaji, played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats and was drafted 22nd overall by the Nuggets in the 2020 NBA draft and has since become a key and influential member of Denver Nuggets.
His father, Apham Nnaji, who immigrated to the United States has been a source of strength, support and encouragement to the 2.11m tall power forward.
★ THE BIG GOAL AND VOW
Zeke Nnaji told his father at age 10 that, “Dad when I make it to the NBA I'm gonna help a lot of people.”
Zeke Nnaji kept on working on basketball and became a star at Hopkins Highschool, went on one big year in Arizona, then was drafted in the first round by the Denver Nuggets. And his second contract created financial freedom for the young and dynamic power forward who can also play as a centre.
After hitting it big with the NBA deal, Nnaji said, “I'm really thankful and humble that I get to live out my dream every single day.”
★ KEPT HIS VOW AND THE BIG GOAL
“Everybody has been asking me what's going on, so it brings us back here where my father grew up and where I made that pledge that I love to help people, and so the Nnaji Foundation partnered with the NBA to help build a basketball academy in Nigeria.”
★ APHAM NNAJI
“The challenges and the depravity in Nigeria and Africa is a whole lot, I grew up there, and I've seen how hard things are there for folks.”
During a recent visit, the Nnaji Foundation found out that people are bigger than their impoverished condition.
“The first thing you see is the community's poverty, but the next thing you see on top of that is the resilience and in this Nnaji Foundation academy is a beckon of hope,” Kerry Sutherland a representative of the Foundation said.
Kerry Sutherland, explained that the real idea is to teach them basketball, and hope that there is real life carry over.
Zeke Nnaji added that, “There are life skills that this tournament teaches like hard work, dedication, consistency, toughness, these are skills that are applicable to all areas of life.”
The Nnaji Foundation is not all about playing basketball, it also provides sound education for the kids, Zeke Nnaji stated: “Young people can learn how to create with their hands, mechanics, computing and different types of machinery, design engineering if you feel that is more sustaining, career path choices, all of that is just the ability to have choices.”
Zeke understands sports as just part of life, as an accomplished self-taught pianist, he wants options for young people beyond basketball as well.
“For being able to finally be in this position, it's really incredible and it's really moving it's fun,“ Zeke Nnaji said.
Your authoritative and award-winning news channel FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG gathered that kids are learning about it all, with a grateful heart and that was another point Mr. Sutherland stressed.
“All the kids are wonderful, when you talk about humility, when you talk about kids that are just so thankful and appreciative for the opportunity.”
A world away and now NBA millionaire he is enjoying the fruits of his labour, but the goal of his life and this foundation is to remember and give back to where dad grew and where kids have dreams that can be fortified .
Apham Nnaji, concluded with these profound and deep words, “We teach our kids just because you have an opportunity, you can't rest on that you have to be able to help the least of these, because that is what the Most High wants us to do.”
As the saying goes, great things start from small and humble beginnings, this is the story of the Zeke Nnaji Foundation as they are shaping the lives of young ones in Nigeria through sports and education for a greater and better tomorrow.
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