Michael Essien was widely tipped to be one of Africa's next rising stars. Essien made his competitive senior debut in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations against Morocco on 21 January 2002. but had played for Ghana in a pre-tournament friendly against Egypt on 4 January 2002. On 16 May 2006, Essien was selected to be part of the team that represented Ghana at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He played in midfield with team captain Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari. Essien played in Ghana's 0–2 defeat to Italy, their 2–0 victory over the Czech Republic, and the 2–1 victory
Emmanuel Essien Emmanuel Essien Emmanuel Ibok Essien was elected Senator for the Akwa-Ibom North West constituency of Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform. He took office on 29 May 1999. Essien studied Electrical/Electronics Engineering at the College of Technology, Calabar (1975 - 1977), the University of Ife (1977 - 1978) and Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, graduating in 1982 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He worked with Mobil Producing Nigerian, taught at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, and established an engineering construction company, as well as undertaking large-scale farming. In