By Sue-Ann Wayow
AFRICAN royalty stepped on local soil when the Monarch of the Ashanti Kingdom, The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II of Ghana arrived in Trinidad on Sunday.
The leader of the Ashanti Kingdom received a royal welcome at the Piarco International Airport by several government ministers including Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Dr Amery Browne.
Dressed in traditional Ghanian wear, he descended unto the red carpet rolled out for him underneath an umbrella raised – the African symbol of royalty.
The African King is here to participate in the Emancipation celebrations this week.
The Asantehene means ruler of the Ashanti people. By name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the 17th-century founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival, the government ministers all said they were pleased to welcome him.
Tourism minister Randall Mitchell said Trinidad and Tobago boasts of having the largest Emancipation Day celebrations outside of Africa which he was proud of.
Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds said, “We feel the enthusiasm of the people of Trinidad and Tobago in particular on this occasion, the African people who would now see perhaps for the first time in the flesh, in the person, royalty out of Africa and I think that is a really marvellous and wondrous and fulfilling and satisfactory experience.”
Minister of Trade and the Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon also said the fact that The Asantehene was here for an entire week showed the closeness between Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana.
The Monarch was invited to visit Trinidad and Tobago by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley during Dr Rowley’s visit to Ghana back in March, 2020.
