My Genuine Concerns

Dear Sanda,

I don’t know why am not surprised at what has become a habit of most pedestrians, and if the security agencies have come to notice it yet, if not I advise them to kindly  take their time to observe the disrespect most Ghanaian drivers have for the laws of our country . I dare not say we might end up becoming a lawless country with no respect for rules and regulations.

I might be the one raising the issue, but most of us might have experienced this somewhere, somehow or were the culprits in that situation. It could also be that we did witness it while it happened and overlooked it because it doesn’t concern us. Normally with expressions like, “it is not for me but for the government of Ghana”.

I  have an issue with how some drivers and conductors have made themselves masters of the road and thoughtlessly increase transportation fare when it suits them, and again the Ghanaian attitude of lets live it to God comes to play “it is nothing, live it to God”. 

Again to the issue of how conductors disrespect passengers with the other passengers looking on, unperturbed, the most annoying thing among all this is when they look on without defending you, instead of keeping quiet, they rather support the conductor to take any amount he wants from you and ask you to even alight when you decide you will not pay.

It has become a habit of us and its literally part of us, my friend told me a story of what happened to him when he sat in a bus heading from Madina to Ashaley Botwe, School Junction. My friend was heading to Botwe but there was a woman who sat in the car with her little children and her luggage which were too much on her, and he witnessed when the mate loaded the car and said he was going to School junction. With that in mind the woman sat in the car with her children and belongings.

After the woman sat in the bus and the bus took off, the conductor said he was no more going to School junction but Botwe. My friend said he was so angry that he didn’t know what to do, it has been a recurring habit of conductors to get people for their bus and later deny saying they were going to the destination they mentioned. He told the conductor that since he said he was going to School Junction, he had to drop him and the woman there.

Just then the passengers in the car started complaining that “he” the young man had no business in the issue so why should he make it his problem.

My friend was surprised at the attitude of the people, this is a woman who was in the bus with her luggage and kids and the conductor wants to drop her in the middle of nowhere because the people in the bus have decided to overlook the issue because it doesn’t concern them.

He insisted that he was going to School junction and therefore the conductor and his driver must drive him and the woman to the place. The driver seeing how insistent my friend looked didn’t have a choice than to drive them to School junction.

 After which he helped the woman get her luggage and kids off the bus, when he was sure she was safe, he took a different car back to Botwe.

IT’S CALLED A BUS STOP

Numerous bus stops have been provided on the streets in almost every part of the country, some are so wide and big enough with the indication BUS STOP.

My understanding of the word BUS STOP does not make it a place where cars are to park, because they could have written a CAR PARK but they didn’t. Neither is it a place for selling, but a place where a car will stop at an instant and allow passengers to alight and move to the next bus top.

Well that is my understanding, except the experts see it differently. The police headquarters is the hub  of the POLICE, it’s called the police headquarters(HQ) because it is where all affairs of the police is relayed, but trotro’s have since time immemorial showed gross disrespect to the building .

The HQ is the junction I always alight before I walk school, except in days when I feel richer, I use the Ghana Commercial Bank taxi park which picks student to the Ghana Institute of Journalism and it charges per head.

My problem with the trotro’s and some of the passengers they pick is that, once they get to the Police HQ traffic light, and the red light is on, the Conductor (mate) will get down and ask passengers alighting at HQ to drop in the middle of the road, not caring it is in the middle of the road and anything could happen, most especially that the HQ is facing them right in the face.

The situation is so bad that they do it even when police officers are in the car. Well I don’t see how you can blame them when some of the police officers who are supposed to be the custodians of the law alight in the traffic and cross when the bus stop is just a stone throw from the traffic light.

I just have always thought why that will happen, because if you intend displaying your total disregard for the law, you could do it anywhere but in front of the police headquarters is like standing in the lion’s den and expecting it to live you.

It is really very appalling to see Ghanaians show unpatriotic attitude towards things that belong to the government, with words like it is not for my father or mother so I don’t really care what happens to it, it isn’t for your mother or father but your tax payers money paid for every bit of it so it is yours and you have every right to protect it like it was in your name.

ARE MOTOR CYCLES NOT PART OF TRAFFIC REGULATIONS

It’s just a question that have being in my mind for a very very long time, reason because, if cars stop because the traffic lights are on, the motor cycle drivers will not stop at all, instead you see them driving away, and at certain times hurting a pedestrian who is about crossing the road because the traffic lights are supposed to be on.

If you have used the Karprise road for a number of times, then you will agree with me better, once I left home to go plait my hair in town, my mum knew I was going to Newtown but then, a motor cycle rider came from nowhere and nearly hit me with his bike, even though the traffic lights was on, it was just by grace that I escaped unhurt. I got so angry and just couldn’t understand my bad luck.

I once witnessed a police raid on my way to Ghanaian times, and after I got back to interview the riders, one just told me “when they come for us, they will only waste our time like two or three hours and take like 30gh cedis from you and let you go”.

That was when I realized that some of the police officers are not helping the service, after taking single spine, you still take bribe and will not let some group of people respect the service which has its motor as service with integrity.

Well I think the police should be up and running these days, if you are caught doing what they call the Okada business, you should go to jail. From my point of view, we don’t need to end up like some African countries.

In ending my complaints, or let me just label it my genuine concerns, I believe its high time each Ghanaian learns to be patriotic, and take responsibility of reporting anyone  seen breaking any law at any point in time, you are a stake holder, I am a stake holder, everything we do counts.

Just before I go, what is happening in adding subjects like “patriotism” to our junior siblings in the primary school? Indeed we need patriotic citizens and the children have to be instilled with that from the primary school. Y3 Oman ba pa.