How many Anarchists-by-heart-Autonomists can count a real king to their circle of friends? Not too many I suppose. But I can. Weird circumstances, paths of life, personal decisions and coinciding fates clustered together to make this happen.
And the king? Well, he is a personal friend of ours, living together with his wife and daughter next door to us as a part of our extended family. We call him Moses Yaw Aidoo. Moses and his wife and daughter are a very much appreciated part of our gang.
For his subjects, his name is King Safrotwe Kakradae IV. Nana for short.
I used to have very romantic ideas about crowned sovereigns when I was a child. Later in life, those misconceptions were replaced by political opinions which swayed to the far left and never swayed back again. Kings were not sitting in my bright corner waiting to be cuddled, so to speak. Quite the opposite was the case.
In one entry of this blog, I do slightly come off the anti-king attitude I have fostered for so long, because I understand that in general, these kings can’t really help becoming one. Although, for some royalty it is the other way around: poor England’s Prince of Whales is groomed for a job he might never have, because his ruling mother is still as strong as a horse. He definitely wants to become king and he has the right of succession, but his mother ER-II is refusing to cut him into the deal.
Not so with my friend Moses. He got chosen to be Nana because, like Charley, he had the rights of succession too, but he actually got the phone call form his mother – slightly more than a year ago – ordering him to come home to Ghana urgently, in order to take his rightful place as King. Just imagine, you are working as a high faluting business consultant for a well reputed firm in a western European country, minding your own business, and all of a sudden you are expected to become a ruler!
Ghana has several kings, who each have authority over a part of the country. This is mainly expressed in land ownership and the right to determine what happens with this land. (The country itself is represented by a president, effectively making Ghana a republic.) Each king has to develop his part of the country, and he is expected to do this in the interest of the people living on it. In the case of Nana Safrotwe Kakradae the Fourth, the land equals the size of the Dutch province Utrecht, bringing with it the reign over 1,5 million people (and rising).
As a side dish, the king sometimes has to pass judgements over disputes amongst his subjects too, like a genuine ruler used to do in ancient European times. This is real hands-on kingship and nothing like the modern figurehead-symbolic stuff the European royalty is good for.
I must admit that I have great respect for this NSK-IV and even more for his alter ego, my friend Moses. He has to pull ONE AND A HALF MILLION people out of an underdeveloped state and move them into the current era, by attracting developers and investors to his land. And in the mean time, he has to maintain some mythical decorum too. In practice this means that he is not allowed to do much when in Ghana, because a king is not supposed to lower himself to undertake anything ignoble. Cook some food? Carry a bag? Open a door? Not for him any more! These are activities not worthy of Royal Hands and thus prohibited for him to do.
So much for the royal perks, fringe benefits and advantages. NSK-IV’s life in Ghana is hard. But, things are different when he is in the Netherlands again. The moment he touches down on Dutch soil, Moses is allowed to be Moses again.. We owe him that manoeuvring space. This morning, he even took the kids to school. Just imagine being driven to school by a king! My kids had that privilege and I think that is something very special.
Moses will need a lot of help from all of us, including you, dear reader, because a kingship in Ghana really means: serving the people. And this king has to do it without the extravagant pay check our crowned heads stick into their pockets every month.
If you want to know more, have a look at the website that is currently under construction. There will be an English version available shortly.
If you have some money to part with, you have the option to share. But good ideas and hands-on work are welcome too. There is nothing in it for you, but the people in Ghana will be grateful for ever.
If you want to see more pictures – of the coronation and other traditional festivities – follow this link… More related websites: A King in Ghana, Nana’s personal pages; Royal Consulting Group, Nana’s initiatives and the King in Ghana Foundation, a Dutch initiative to support Nana.
