Meet the Ghanaian king working as a gardener in Canada to develop his village

shakirudeen taiwo

December 25, 2017 8:52 AM

This is a case of how leaders in Africa empower their subjects.

One basic feature of Africa as a continent is the selfless nature of its leaders and the placement of societal good above personal. The king of a village in Adansi Aboabo in Ghana, HRM Eric Manu has returned to Canada to raise money to fund health care service in his domain.

HRM Manu was a gardener in the North American country before becoming king when his 67-year-old uncle, passed away in 2016. So he left Canada where he had been since 2013 to take up his birthright. However, the non-functional health care system in his village made Manu consider returning to his previous - a gardener, to achieve a good healthcare for his subjects.

He told CTV News during an interview that the decision is driven by a passion to give back to his people.

“It’s a huge experience. You have to embrace it with passion. It’s something of my heritage, my culture, and traditions,” Manu said.

On the job, he said returning to landscaping and gardening in the British Columbia area of Canada is in a bid to raise cash for his 6,000 people.

“Sometimes, we go to the (job) site and they say, ‘You are the chief. I saw you on TV. Why are you doing the landscaping?”

“This is humility; you understand? Anytime I’m in Canada, I’m proud to work for my boss.”

On his mission to empower his subjects

This is not the first time Manu would be making move to empower his people. In 2016, Ms. Susan Watson – boss of Manu and founder of the Landscape Consultants, donated to Manu’s village with a shipment full of school supplies, clothing, laptops and medical supplies.

This was done through the ‘To The Moon and Back’ foundation founded by Watson.

Ms Watson narrated her experience during the coronation of Manu.

“They’re beautiful inside and out and they have absolutely nothing. And you (Manu) came home here and most of us are miserable and we want something more.”

The money Manu hopes to raise from his several months’ stay in Canada will be invested in improving health care, with the aim of returning with another shipment of equipment.

Miss Watson added: “The whole village was quite poor. The clinic only has a midwife and a few nurses. There was no doctor on site.”

shakirudeen taiwo

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