The University of Hamburg researcher has been studying fairy circles for many years, examining hundreds of them in detail.

BBC: Termites 'engineer fairy circles'

Born in Warri in the oil-rich Niger Delta to a Nigerian father and German mother, as a teen Ms. Egbuna, who performs as Nneka, relocated to study anthropology at the University of Hamburg.

WSJ: Nneka | Nigerian Provocateur | By Jim Fusilli

One of the couple's two daughters is working in the northern city of Hamburg, while the other is attending a university in the city of Weimar.

WSJ: Germany's Rapidly Aging Population Threatens Rural Towns

From Ralph Brinkhaus, a local member of the German parliament, the Bundestag, to Christine Lemster, a chemistry student at Hamburg University, we heard a similar refrain - the UK and Germany ought to be natural allies, and it is too bad that they cannot unite around EU issues.

BBC: Germans united in regret over Britain's EU stance