A B.C. man is getting ready to go back to his home country of Ghana where he will be crowned king of a 6,000 person tribe in the south of the country.
Eric Manu, 32, has been living in B.C. for three years after marrying a Canadian woman he met in Ghana. The couple now have a 10-month-old son.
Manu’s uncle was previously the king of the Akan tribe, but he died in 2013. This July, Manu received a phone call telling him he had been chosen as his uncle’s replacement.
“I wasn’t really thinking that it was going to be me because I’m too young for that,” said Manu. However, the community of chiefs and other officials decided Manu was the best person for the job.
Manu is still working as a landscaper in White Rock, but now plans to go to Ghana to become king and improve the lives of his tribe members. He also hopes to split his time between Ghana and Canada.
“I’ve learnt a lot about Canada and I really want to transform the life that Canada changed me to the people of Ghana,” said Manu.
His wife will become queen, but traditionally the Akan tribe has a queen mother for the whole village.
“But the wife of a chief, she also becomes a queen of the king, of the chief,” said Manu. “So she becomes the mother of all mothers of the village.”
The Akan tribe’s village is a centre for other villages, including a market and many houses.
While he knows it will be a lot of work, Manu said he is excited about this opportunity.
“For a young guy like me, I am going to take a very huge responsibility to respond to disputes of land, disputes of individuals in the community,” he said, adding that he will also oversee any political decisions for the village.
“For me to be an icon, people should look up to me, I think that it’s a big responsibility for me, but I’m grateful for that because it’s preparing me to be a mature man,” said Manu.
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