My entire life was in Kumasi; I knew nothing about Accra – Ga Mantse shares life story

The Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, has stated he never even envisaged living in Accra, let alone being the overlord of the Ga State.

According to him, after his family relocated from the UK to Kumasi, when his father was a senior lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), he lived in the capital of the Ashanti Kingdom for nearly 30 years without any linkages to Accra, the capital of the Ga Kingdom.

He said that he only came to Accra for transit and never spent a day in the city.

He indicated that his mother taught him and his siblings about the Ga culture and how to speak the Ga language.

The king said that all his businesses were in Kumasi and other parts of the country, but not in Accra; adding that he recently opened a branch of his business in Accra and Tema when he moved to the city.

“We have lived in Kumasi for about 25 to 30 years. The only time I got to come to Accra was when I was travelling out of the country. And even when I got to Accra (from travel) that same day, I would go by domestic flight or STC to Kumasi. There was nothing that held me to Accra.

“... It was never in my line of questioning that I would be interested in Accra or even be in Accra. My whole business and my setup have also been in Kumasi. I have a business in Kumasi that controls a lot of interest in cleaning and maintenance all over the city, in Obuasi, in Techiman, in Sunyani. We have working staff in Ho and other places. Recently, we had to open an office in Accra because I came to Accra. Then also we have one in Tema,” he narrated during an interview on the Personality Profile segment of JoyNews' DriveOnJoy programme.

He also indicated that the only time he spent a lot of time in Accra growing up was during his National Service at the state broadcaster, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), where he worked as an audience research executive.

He said that it was his work at GBC that opened him up to know the various parts of Accra.

On his relationship with the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II said his relationship with the overlord of the Ashanti Kingdom started when they met at his graduation ceremony at KNUST.

He said that Otumfuo, who is the Chancellor of KNUST, was the one who awarded him his MBA certificate.

“My relationship with him started when he was giving me a Strategic Management MBA certificate, and it was reported in the news that two royals met. That was the first time I met him,” he said.

He added that his knowledge of Kumasi and the Asantehene’s upbringing in Accra, and his relationship with the late Ga Mantse Nii Amugi II, has helped grow their relationship.

BAI/NOQ

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