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Meet Ghana’s Montrealhene in Canada, Oseodeyo Kwateng Amanin

When he stepped on Canadian soils as far back as February 1987, it never crossed his mind that few years later, he was going to lead Ghanaians in that beautiful country – situated at the northern part of North America.
Indeed, for Nana Kwateng Amanin, he had traveled to Canada because of what he described as “its diversity and openness to blacks” – having watched the Summer Olympics staged in Montreal.
“I had watched the Olympic Games and seen that there were many blacks in the team, which made me understand that there were opportunities there. And, when I came, I was gladly surprised because my assumptions were confirmed,” he recalled with nostalgia.
Imbued with a rare sense of discipline, dedication to work and readiness to assist people in need, Ghanaians living in Montreal decided to dash for him to be their chief and leader.
As fate may have it, he was unanimously acclaimed by friends and citizens of Montreal as their chief with the chieftaincy title “Montrealhene.”
“He is one of a kind. He endeared himself to us with his sterling leadership qualities and ever-ready service to the people and so we virtually badgered him into leading us,” Kwame Boateng, who has been living in Canada for the past 17 years, confirmed in an interview with The Spectator.
Montreal is the most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec and the second-most populous city in Canada.
Service
According to the Montrealhene, serving mankind has always come easy “because that is what I love doing best and it gives me a deep inner sense of satisfaction.”
“Let me say that service to man is service to the Lord Almighty. I have volunteered my time since I was young,” Nana Amanin, who doubles as the Abusuapanyin of Sunyani Krontire Abusua, back in Ghana, said.
Oath
On September 7, 2019, Osadeoyo Kwateng Amanin swore the oath of allegiance in public to the Ghanaian Community in Montreal, Quebec, with representatives from the Prime Minister of Canada’s Office in full attendance and other dignitaries from the Kanawake First Nations and City Councillors in Montreal.
It was a grand, scintillating ceremony. And, Nana Amanin was thrilled!
“I thank the Ghanaian community, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the city councillors, and specifically Mary Deros, the entire Ghanaian community, the Montreal Traditional Council, the pastors in our community, my family, especially my wife and my two sons. I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for them. God bless Ghana and God bless Canada,” he asserted.
Nana Kwateng Amanin was born at Sunyani in the Bono State to Opanin Kofi Nsowaah, a successful farmer at Sunyani. His mother, Madam Adwoa Serwaah, was also from the same town.
Background
He started his primary school education at High Street Primary, Sunyani, and continued to Twene Amanfo Secondary School at the Sunyani Bono State before moving to Canada to study at the Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario.
Though a chief, Nana Amanin is a respected businessman in Montreal who specialises in retail of beauty products supply and services.
The Montrealhene has been trying hard to promote Ghana to the Canadian society, but the task appears to be a Himalayan undertaking because of the diversity of culture of his people.
“In Ghana, we have many cultures and traditions, which make it quite challenging to unify all the Ghanaians here and make them have a single voice,” he said, but was quick to add that “God is always on my side and so I know I will succeed.”
Oseadeyo Amanin has a lovely wife – Madam Mercy Ama Konadu and blessed with two sons. The first – Kevin Kwateng, is an engineer and the second – Edwin Kwateng, a businessman.
The Montrealhene says he has no regrets in life “because God has blessed me with a beautiful wife, two lovely sons and hundreds of loyal friends including Prime Minister Trudeau.”
Nana Amanin has some immense love for soccer and ice hockey which he describes as “phenomenal.”
A liberal disciplinarian, he has advised the youth to be obedient, law abiding and pay heed to their parents.
“It is always important for the youth to show respect to their parents because they (parents) want their children to become big and assume a bear-sized part of society. I again advise them to listen to their elders because it takes the whole village to raise a child.
“Last but not least, our children and youth should focus on education, education and education. That’s the all-important key to their future.”
Appeal
The Sunyani Krontire Abusua Panin has appealed to the youth to vote peacefully during the forthcoming December 7 general elections, urging them not to allow themselves to be used by people who only seek their selfish interests.
“Every vote counts, so it’s good for the youth to vote. However, they should be careful not to be used for any political violence during the December 7 elections. Ghana is a very peaceful country and we ought to protect its sanctity and integrity.”
In 2014, the Montrealhene with the support and encouragement from the late Nana Anane Peprah and some active members in the Ghanaian Community in Montreal, formed the Traditional Council of Montreal, operating in the province of Quebec.
However, the idea of unifying the Ghanaian Community on chieftaincy, cultural and traditional practices, dates back to 1987 when the Omanhene Osadeoyo Kwateng Amanin set foot in Montreal, Quebec.
The Traditional Council of Montreal, among its mission, is to promote and practise Ghanaian culture and values in Canada and the diaspora, maintain and keep the Ghanaian heritage and also have a sense of belonging as a community of African descent.

By John Vigah

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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal

Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.


Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.

Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.

Here are the results in Zone Two

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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age

Dr Commeh

 The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Ser­vice (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.

This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature be­fore they become sexually active.

“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the oppor­tunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.

Dr Commeh stated this in an in­terview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.

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According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.

She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”

She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavi­rus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.

“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have elim­inated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.

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Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccina­tion is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.

She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.

She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.

However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunate­ly, there are a few women whose HPV persists.

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Moreover, she noted that the num­bers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of med­ications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”

Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for preven­tion and control.

 By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu

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