April 24, 1989: The world welcomes the quiet, wise beyond his years warrior Akim “The Dream” Aliu. A childhood marked by welfare and scrappy surviving at best, with stints in Nigeria, Soviet Union to Canada, struggling to make ends meet while enduring endless racial prejudice and tension. But Akim didn’t know any other way; resiliency, drive and hopeful horizons were within his blood from day one, as if life was preparing his sails to weather many storms ahead. And that he did, with a career that has thrown just about everything his way: hazing, bullying, inequitable access, and most recently - public shunning, by the very industry he loved most.
But “victim” he is not, as his purpose lies in much bigger prerogatives. To unmask the mysteries, break through the barriers and transform the hockey culture into what it was always meant to be.
If you would like to hear Akim's full story, please check out our "MEET AKIM" page!