Mr. Ben Manu, a Ghanaian based in the United Kingdom with stays in West Bromwich, Birmingham, and West London, has shared his emotional migration story in an interview with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide show. Speaking honestly about struggle, sacrifice, marriage, and survival, Ben said life abroad did not turn out the way he expected.
Ben revealed that he left Ghana in 2015. Upon arriving in the UK, life became immediately difficult. He admitted that he initially used other people’s documents to work before finally obtaining his own. Back in Ghana, he was a professional technician with a stable job and a comfortable life. However, comparing his Ghanaian salary to the high cost of living abroad made him regret his decision within the first three months of arriving in the UK.
“I thought once I entered the UK, I could easily work as a technician like I did in Ghana, but it wasn’t that simple,” he said. According to Ben, despite Ghana’s challenges, his quality of life back home was better than what he initially experienced abroad.
Ben disclosed that he sponsored his wife to the UK, and she arrived successfully. However, after settling in, she refused to return to Ghana. He later joined her to make the marriage work, but things fell apart. Eventually, she left him and cut off communication completely.
He explained that during the marriage, he earned minimum wage using borrowed documents, while another woman he later brought to the UK earned significantly more than he did. Despite earning less, Ben said he was the one taking care of the household. “When a woman earns more and doesn’t respect the home, things begin to turn sour,” he stated. According to him, his wife began looking for faults as a way to justify leaving the marriage.
Determined to focus on his children, Ben decided to bring all three of them abroad. He explained that he and the woman had been together since 2012, divorced, and later officially reconciled the same year. Despite these efforts, the relationship did not survive.
In terms of work, Ben said he started with warehouse jobs before a breakthrough came. Someone informed him about a company looking for a maintenance technician. When he applied, all the machines at the company were faulty, and he was asked to fix them. He successfully repaired every machine and was offered the job at £11 per hour. Though the pay was low, he accepted it to gain UK experience and strengthen his CV.
Ben revealed that he is multi-skilled, handling electrical works, plumbing, welding, mechanical repairs, and general maintenance. He has worked with the company for nearly five years. According to him, management reviews their losses and productivity annually and often relies solely on his expertise without calling in external technicians. He also modified original machine parts to his own improved standards, making them more durable. Over time, his salary increased, and he enrolled in professional courses to further upgrade his skills.
He lamented that many Africans in the UK are artisans but fail to use their skills properly. He recalled advice from a Pakistani colleague who encouraged him to upload his work online so clients could contact him directly for jobs.
On family matters, Ben issued a strong warning to married men abroad, advising them to remain faithful when they visit Ghana. He claimed that once some wives abroad hear their husbands are involved with women back home, it often leads to divorce. Ben revealed that his wife has blocked him since 2020, and they no longer communicate. They share one child together.
The child initially lived in Ghana, but Ben later brought the child to Manchester. At the time, neither parent had proper documentation, but the child was close to obtaining legal status. Unfortunately, immigration authorities intervened, and the child was deported. Ben said his wife did not offer any financial support during the process. By the time he was ready to bring all his children abroad, that particular child had become overage, forcing him to look for alternative legal options.
Today, Ben says he no longer speaks to his ex-wife and feels no need to communicate with her. Reflecting on his journey, he described his story as a lesson in resilience, regret, and survival—one he hopes will guide others considering life abroad without proper preparation.
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