The ruler of the West African clan returned to Canada to continue working as a gardener and earning money for his people’s healthcare.
When his 67-year-old uncle Dat died, Eric Manu ascended to the throne. Eric returned to southern Ghana to take up the inheritance after three years in Canada with his wife and children.
“It’s a fantastic experience,” he says. “It must be embraced completely. It’s a part of my history, culture, and tradition.”
But now, Aboabo No. 2, the chief of the Akan tribe residing in Adansi, has returned to North America and resumed his former work. He plants and landscapes in British Columbia to earn funds for his 6,000-member community.
“Sometimes I arrive to work and people say to me, ‘You are the leader, I saw you on TV! What are you doing digging in the garden?’ Manu tells reporters.”Please understand that this is modesty. I’m pleased to work for my boss when I’m in Canada.”
When he initially came, his boss, Susan Watson, established a fund to collect school supplies, clothing, laptop computers, and medications for the young king’s subjects. She attended Ghana’s coronation ceremony and stated:
“These people are stunning on the inside and out, yet they have nothing. And here we have most individuals who are miserable and always want more.”
Manu intends to make enough money in Canada to provide medical supplies and medications back to his hometown.
“The entire village is impoverished,” Watson adds. “There is just one midwife and two nurses in the clinic. There are no physicians everywhere.”
