Returning to Ghana with a redeemed wife

Kwame Mainu had managed to persuade his long-estranged wife, Comfort, to return to him and their daughter, Akosua. Comfort flew in from Ghana to join him in Coventry to help Akosua prepare for university. They would then return to Ghana to live in Comfort’s house in Nhyiasu, the garden city of Kumasi. The only cloud on Kwame’s horizon was the threat of a host of distant relatives demanding help with all of his problems.

Lying next to a sleeping Comfort on the night of his arrival, Kwame prepared to count his blessings. He had a lot to tell. He recalled how nine years ago in Konongo, Comfort had rejected him because of his poverty, lack of ambition for his family, and his divided loyalties. Now his situation has changed. He was not wealthy, but he had enough to support his nuclear family and make a contribution to the welfare of his extended family. His ambition now was to care for his family in his homeland while he continued his professional career serving the local community. His loyalties were inextricably focused on his own people. Comfort could no longer taunt him with, ‘Who are your people, oboroni (white man)?’ A mutual respect had grown between them that, on Kwame’s part, had never wavered, but that he now believed he would hold until the end.

Life in comfort in your Garden City home would be beyond your sweetest dreams. With Akosua joining them for five months of the year during her university holidays and expected visits from Tom, Afriyie and other Warwick friends, she hoped to maintain a rich family and social life. She would encourage Akosua to bring friends on holiday visits and Tom had promised to bring Mrs. Chichester, Kwame’s long-term landlady.

A frequent visitor class was inevitable. All of Wenchi’s aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces would make a pilgrimage to Nhyiasu in search of a cure for all her ills. Kwame planned to build a house for his mother in Wenchi and, with Comfort’s help, would establish his half-sister Adjoa’s shoe trade on a larger and more secure scale. Beyond that, he was faced with a dilemma. What must he do to meet the obligations of his extended family and avoid an endless stream of supplicants that fill his spare time and overwhelm his resources?

You should consult Comfort about this. He would be guided by the way she handled her own distant relatives, though she realized they were far fewer in number than hers. Kwame’s mother, Amma, in her lifelong search for the perfect husband for her, had established numerous genetic pathways to her treasure. Even in the days of his modest success as a cart maker in Suame magazine, she felt that half the people of the Brong-Ahafo region had a claim on him. Now, returning with the booty of aborokyiri, he was certain that he would meet the other half.