THE BEAUTY OF TRAFFIC IN GHANA
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| beauty of the night view |
The dread
of some Ghanaians to and from work is to enter a long queue of vehicles on the
road. A journey of 20 minutes becomes a journey of an hour. Have you ever
calculated the time to use to and from work? ‘I have!’ I use an average of 2
hours to journey to and from work everyday; I can imagine yours is worse huh! Whilst
someone journeys from Kumasi to Accra within 4 hours, you journey within Accra
with same hours spent…such a pity!
Anyways, enough
of the sad traffic stories; let us talk about the beauty traffic situations
bring to us in buses(trotro), taxis and private vehicles.
RAINBOW COLOUR
EFFECT:
Like Colours
beautify the canvas of the artist so does the array of vehicles in traffic
create appealing sights in our eyes. Standing at Kwame Nkrumah overhead or any
overhead in the city during rush hours at 7:30am and 4:30pm, you will see the red
display of brakes lights, white and umber display of front lights and a mix of
yellow-red-blue sprayed taxis and different colours of other cars. To the eyes,
it is beautiful. One of these days, do not be in a rush to leave office or
home; just find a good spot at any overhead walkway and enjoy beauty created
out of mess. Psychologically, I think it is distressing and as you take a
leisurely walk along the foot bridge, you dense yourself into a deep meditation
about life. The interesting thing about the traffic effect is that during the
day, the effect is clear literal but during the evening, it can be dim and
bright. People with good cameras can take and enjoy the scenery of traffic and
use as a project theme. If it was not for traffic, I would not have known that
there is beauty in every confusion.
MYSELF
TIME:
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| source: kuulpeeps |
Before starting your day and after a hectic day, you want to release stress by any means possible; for must people in Ghana, the best place to do that is in the car. Imagine a typical hectic day…you plug in your headset or tune up your radio to listen to your favourite songs; for some using the public transport, they watch that series they never get time to watch, others too browse social media and like all the pictures they see. Whatever your option, you certainly enjoy yourself till your destination. There is nothing better than to tune up and repeat songs over and over and over till you forget the traffic honks, shouts from drivers and hawkers around you. To make your journey even more fun, you grab a chilled ice-cream or drink and popcorn from your side window where the hawkers are standing by…you know what I mean! Lol! One of the best napping times is when you are a passenger in a bus or taxi; if you locate yourself at the extreme corner of the bus, you can position yourself well for a good nap. Lol!
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| source: kuulpeeps |
Some people sleep so deep in busses that you can
hear their snores and the annoying part is that they even push you in their
sleep to make way for more space. Annoying! Too much comfi, I guess! Have you ever caught yourself doze in a public bus
or taxi before? Lol! You, instinctively, will look around to see if no one saw
you nodding to nothing. Now that’s enjoyment in traffic!
MAKE PALS:
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| source: kuulpeeps |
It can be
easy making acquaintances in public transport than in private ones. During football
championship seasons like world cup, UEFA and champions league, the bus or what
we call ‘trotro’ becomes a mobile café. Soccer fanatics will employ the driver
to tune in to a suitable football commentary radio station or you will find
others plug in their headsets to listen to their choice of radio. Immediately it
is half-time or a goal is scored, everyone joins in the coaching business.
Passengers suddenly become coaches and players; they narrate and predict the
match amongst one another in the bus. Passengers who, hitherto, did not know
each other, become friends to support an argument or against it. Conversations can
go on till everyone alights one at a time, but with smiles and sometimes
disappointment on their faces. I have experienced heated arguments in trotro
before; I have also met acquaintances on a bus which resulted in business. I have
heard that people have met their life partners on busses and taxis. (if you know anyone like that, please share your story at the
comment area). In taxis, the driver becomes your best friend; Try this…
pick a taxi and then ask the driver how his day has been or make a comment
about the economy and you will experience the shock of your life; the driver
will talk till you get to your destination. Lol!. It happened to me once; I only
asked how the driver’s day was and he bombarded me with his marital and
economic issues. I ended up becoming like a professional counsellor during the
trip. Interestingly, such conversations can kill boredom as well as upset
depending on your mood. But when you know that your journey is far, the best
way to kill boredom is to chat with the one next to you. If you want to catch a
new pal this season, do it in traffic; that’s the beauty of trafiic. (share your experience with us)
TRAFFIC IS MONEY
as you drive to work and from work daily, some
people have their workplaces by the road; they are called hawkers. The hawkers
say that best time to make sales is when there is heavy traffic. Every typical
traffic zone in the city is occupied by hawkers selling anything imaginable,
from; toiletries, food, stationery, paintings, furniture, toys, etc. these
hawkers walk to and fro hoping to catch an eye that is interested to buy
something. An egg seller can make an average profit of 30ghc each day. The traffic
hawking job is full-time for some hawkers. Kwesi, a hawker I buy socks from
told me that in the morning, he sells socks to workers at Kwashieman traffic
light from 6am to 10am. He returns in the afternoon to sell handkerchiefs and
face towels; during rush hour in the evening, he sells electronics. He said
that he makes enough money to take care of his needs and that of his family. He
confessed that the street hawking is a risky job but the traffic makes it quite
safer. Making money during traffic is the way to go for some thousands of
Ghanaians because time is money…traffic is money too. Before you condemn the
heavy traffic you experience, remember that someone is making profit and hopes
that the traffic continues so they can make more profit. Lol! That’s the vicissitudes
of life! To street hawkers and beggars, traffic is the most beautiful
experience they can ever have any day.
EAT:
Thinking of what to eat for breakfast, lunch or
supper? … no worries, you can do that in traffic. Lol! Recently, I was in a bus on my way home and I realized that I would get home after 8pm because of the traffic; so I decided to fix supper in the bus. Just at Tesano traffic light, i bought ice-cream, water and ‘Adinkra Pie’ and I was good to go. I have seen some people buy; ‘komi’ kenkey and fish, toilet roll, eggs, apple, fruit salad, shoe rack, shaving blades, bread, egg, porridge and beverages, mobile phones and accessories, shirts and shoes, books, cosmetics, amongst others. – what have ever bought in traffic? - Have you experienced how hawkers flash items in your face just when your eyes meet? Sometimes, I feel that these hawkers have a way to know your heart desires; in a hot and condensed bus, a hawker just flashes cold water, drink or ice-cream in your face…what will you do? In as much as it is bad for hawkers to sell at road sides, they say that the demand for items come from passengers. (wherever there is demand, there is supply) Hey critic! There is some level of comfort when you can buy anything you want or need in traffic; if you have a better solution, let us know but that is the beauty of traffic in Ghana. (share your experience with us)
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| source: kuulpeeps |
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| source: kuulpeeps |
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