When I heard rumors about a claimant to being the world's tallest man in northern Ghana, I set out to find out if it was true. The only problem is their measurement. A local hospital in northern Ghana told 29-year-old Suleiman Abdul Samad during a recent check-up that his height had reached 9 feet 6 inches (2.89 meters). If so, he is the tallest person in the world, but there is a catch, and that is that the rural clinic cannot be sure of his height, because there is no instrument to measure his exact height. . Solomon was diagnosed a few years ago with gigantism, meaning that his bones had increased in size due to high levels of growth hormones. So he visits the hospital every month to deal with his complications and during one such check-up he is asked to stand next to a measuring device. To his surprise, a nurse told him, 'You are too tall to measure.' Everyone calls him by his nickname, Auche, which means 'let's go' in the Hausa language. They were enjoying the spectacle that was causing them at that moment. They are not surprised to hear that they have grown taller because their growth has never stopped. But the hospital staff was not prepared for this kind of situation. The nurse on duty called out to her colleague, she called for someone else to help and then a group of nurses and health assistants gathered to solve the puzzle of determining their height. One suggested that they find a pole and attach it to a measuring scale to measure the height and thus they were able to estimate Solomon's height. 

'They're still growing' Setting realistic goals can lead to a greater chance of success. So I went back to Gambaga village last week armed with a 16-foot measuring tape to solve the puzzle. The plan was that they would stand against the wall and mark with the end of their head and then we would measure their height using a measuring tape. “The way they measure me here, I can't say everything is right,” Auche admitted, seeming pleased with my plan to measure accurately. They turned out to be taller than most of the houses in our neighborhood, but after a lot of searching we found a suitable building with a high enough wall. He took off his shoes. These shoes were specially made for him by a cobbler with the help of car tires and nails because he could not find shoes of his size. One of their neighbors climbed on a wooden stool to reach Auche's height so he could mark the wall with a piece of charcoal. After confirming the head level mark we put on a measuring tape and pulled it down to the ground. Meanwhile, Auche kept looking at us with hopeful eyes. I said 'Come on, the measuring tape says 7ft 4in.' With his inimitable smile he replied: 'Wow, what does that mean?' I said the tallest living man in the world. is 8 feet 2.8 inches tall, and he's barely a foot taller than you.'He currently holds the Guinness World Record for the tallest person in the world. "My height is still growing," Auche said. Who knows that one day I will be so tall.' He did not seem at all bothered by the discrepancy in the figures given by the hospital. "If you don't see me for three or four months and then you see me, you will realize that I have grown in height," he said. 

This growth in the expanding language started to become noticeable when he was 22 years old and living in the capital city of Accra. Auche moved there after completing secondary school to try his luck in the city. A brother of his already lived there. He worked at a butcher and saved money to learn to drive. But he woke up one morning in trouble. He thought, 'I felt that my tongue had spread so far into my mouth that I couldn't even breathe (properly).' Later he realized that every other part of his body had also started to increase in size. When his family and friends would visit him from the village to the city, everyone would comment on his flaming body and at the same time he realized that he was slowly turning into a giant. They became the tallest. They also tried to get medical help because the increase was causing other complications. His spine is abnormally curved. It's called Marfan syndrome and it's a genetic disorder that affects the body's connective tissues, and it's one of the most prominent symptoms of the condition. This results in abnormally long limbs. More serious complications include heart defects. Doctors say he needs brain surgery to stop his growth. But Ghana's public health care insurance does not cover it, it only provides basic treatment. They still need about US$50 for each hospital visit. Health problems eventually forced him to return to his native village six years ago and give up his dreams of becoming a driver. "I was planning to go to a driving school, but even when I move the seat back, I can't hold the steering wheel," he said. I can't stretch my leg because my knee is touching the wheel.''He said, 'I was planning to go to driving school, but when I move the seat back, I still can't hold the steering wheel. I can't stretch my leg because my knee is touching the wheel.' He now lives with his brother and runs a small business selling mobile phone credits. His height has also affected his social life. "I used to play football like any other youth, I was athletic but now I can't even walk short distances," he explained. 



Local celebrities like Auche don't let their troubles get to their head. They are full of life. He smiles as his tall, thin body moves through the dusty streets of the village and people call out to him. He is a local celebrity of sorts. Old men sitting by a shed welcome them, children wave at them, some women come to hug and joke with them. Some people want to take selfies with him, even strangers don't shy away from asking if he's the giant person they've seen on social media. "I usually say, 'Yeah come closer, we stand and take good pictures,'" says Auche. He is most grateful for the emotional support of his family. He says that none of his relatives, including his three brothers, have any such symptoms. 'None of them are tall, I'm the tallest man.' They want to get married and have children one day, but first they want to focus on getting their health back. His first priority is raising money for plastic surgery to deal with bad skin on one leg, ankle and foot caused by overgrowth. But even after seeing his bandaged toe, he is not ready to give up. They say, 'This is what Allah has chosen for me, I am fine, I have no complaints about the way Allah has created me.'