Isaac Osei started out driving a taxi in New York City when he immigrated to the US about thirty years ago. He has built up that business into a fleet of fifty cars operating day and night. But that’s not his only occupation. When his older brother in Ghana died, Osei took his place as king over a region of Ghana. Now Osei divides his time between US and his royal realm:
As chief, his days are 20 hours long, and his duties are anything but ceremonial. Osei, during his “vacation,” becomes the one-man judicial system, arbitrating familial disputes and other legal questions, resolving as many as possible before returning to New York. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has duties as the chief’s wife, including throwing a feast for 1,000 guests commemorating the annual yam festival — a party at which guests sit, waiting to eat until Isaac does his priest-like duty of blessing the yam harvest.
But unlike Akeem in Coming to America, the Osei’s trips to Ghana are not permanent relocations. They return to the U.S. after fulfilling their official Ghanian duties, where it is back to the taxi business.
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