Naana Ekua, popularly known as a royal lady, relocated to the United Kingdom about 10 to 11 years ago. In an interview with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide Show, she shared her journey, struggles, and lessons from life abroad.
According to Naana Ekua, she was originally based in Kumasi, where she ran an electrical shooting business. She later sold the business, moved to Accra, and ventured into mobile money services. Within six months, she opened a second shop and was doing very well financially in Ghana. Despite her success, she still nurtured a strong desire to travel abroad.
She explained that she was later introduced to opportunities to travel to the USA and the UK. In the process, she dealt with multiple agents. One agent took her passport and charged a registration fee, while another connection later demanded a larger amount. After making payments, communication with the agent became difficult, and at some point, he stopped responding to her calls. She described her eventual trip to the UK as a miracle, as the original connection failed and the agent had to use a different arrangement at the last minute.
Naana Ekua revealed that although she was earning more from her mobile money business in Ghana, her dream of traveling pushed her to take the risk. Upon arrival in the UK, she encountered immigration challenges because the program used to bring her had expired. She was detained for a long period while her documents were scrutinized. After eventually being released to a hotel, she left and moved on with her life in the UK, where things later stabilized for her.
She noted that when she first arrived in the UK, finding work was relatively easy, but in recent years, securing jobs has become much harder.
Naana Ekua has three children and later married a Ghanaian man she met in the UK. The couple lived together for nine years and were married for seven years before divorcing last year. She explained that marriage abroad is very different from marriage in Ghana. While she focused on caring for the children, her husband worked day and night but failed to fully take up his responsibilities at home. Family pressure from both sides further strained the marriage.
She also disclosed that one of her children is autistic, which influenced her decision not to remain in an unhappy marriage. She admitted that although she noticed red flags early in the relationship, she ignored them, believing that being together in the UK would make things easier. However, the situation did not improve. She clarified that her ex-husband was not physically abusive but reacted strongly to some of the tough decisions she made. According to her, he has since said he does not intend to remarry.
Reflecting on life abroad, Naana Ekua said men and women are not easily available socially, and most relationships are formed through mutual connections. She added that people with skilled jobs tend to do better overseas and expressed a wish to return to Ghana someday to learn a trade. She has visited Ghana before with her children and admitted that although she regrets the divorce, the experience has taught her valuable life lessons.
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