Umanmielen was born in Lagos, Nigeria, a part of the Benin people from the nearby Edo tribe. The Edo tribe has had a presence in Nigeria for centuries and boasts over 10,000,000 descendants to date. Before Nigeria was colonized, the Edo people were factions of tribes throughout the coastal area. Those are still represented today in areas of local government.
The leader of one of those tribes was Umanmielen’s grandfather.
Princely admits he’s fuzzy on some of the details; his grandfather passed away when he was a baby, and shortly after, when he was around three years old, his parents migrated with their three sons to America. Life changed, priorities and influence shifted, and he’s only been able to return to Africa once, but not yet to Nigeria.
“I want to go back. I’ve never had the funds to go back. Maybe now,” said the third-rounder.