Fiily-fiili experience of officially-sanctioned Indiscipline on our roads!

Guess happened this morning! On my way to the office from Legon, I used the Okponglo - Adjiringanor route to Ashale-Botwe. At the Nmai Dzorn school junction, I notice a green bullion van driving recklessly behind me. When I got onto the Ashale Botwe road, I could see he was impatient to overtake me, so just before I got to the Old Town GOIL service station, I went a little more to the side of the road to allow him to pass. He overtook me and the four cars ahead of me all at once with his hazards on. Guess what! When I got to the Ashale-Botwe Aviation Road Juction a minute or two later, the bullion van had stopped. Guess why?... they were buying Kofi Brokeman! (Roasted ripe plantain) Can you believe that! I was so astonished and then cross that the driver had endangered so many lives by overtaking us so recklessly even with oncoming traffic only a minute or two before!

You know what I did? I indicated for them to roll down the window and addressed the driver and a young policeman in uniform seated in the front passenger seat: "I can't believe you were driving so recklessly and overtaking everybody and yet you have time to stop to buy Kofi Brokeman!" As they stared at me in surprise, I went on: "Your life is important, so don't endanger yourself if you don't need to. You didn’t need to drive so recklessly!" Then I walked to the vendor and got some Kofi Brokeman for myself. Apparently, I was served before they were, so one of the two female passengers at the back yelled at the vendor: "Aren't you going to give me my food?" The vendor apologised and handed the "wiase ye sum" (black polythene shopping bag) to her and then they drove off. Before then, however, I saw the driver and the policemen arguing. I hope it was about the silly thing they'd done.

Remember what I said earlier this week about officially-sanctioned indiscipline on our roads?!!!

OFFICIAL INDISCIPLINE ON GHANA’S ROADS

As a follow-up to my previous article on indiscipline on our roads, here's my observations about the part the Police is playing in our problems with discipline on our roads. I sent a slightly modified version for publication in the Daily Graphic two weeks ago, but it's still not been published. Hmmm... so here goes...

OFFICIAL INDISCIPLINE ON GHANA’S ROADS

The Ghanaian public has complained time and again about the total lack of discipline on our roads, but it seems like things have not changed. In my opinion, the situation is actually getting worse because we are used to being rude, impatient, discourteous and even reckless towards other roads users.

Driving on traffic-prone roads such as the Lapaz - Mallam road and recently, the main Legon-Adenta road is most unpleasant, because drivers drive on the shoulders of the roads and even on the path of oncoming traffic because they do not want to wait in line for their turn to move. Result is, those who do the right thing by staying in the traffic jam never move or spend a much longer time in the queue than they need to, because other drivers who are way behind them in the queue bypass them and then rejoin the queue at its head. Not only is this unfair, but it also encourages other drivers to drive recklessly, so they do not remain in traffic jams.

The fault is not entirely that of the commercial/private driver... the Police have had a big hand in the current state of affairs, because they have actively contributed to recklessness on our roads, through their own actions. I am referring to instances when the Police themselves, drive recklessly, especially on the shoulders of the road, even when there is no urgency or reason to do so.

A case in point is the little stretch of the Switchback Road that joins the main Airport-Accra ceremonial street, right before the Officers’ Mess opposite the 37 Military Hospital. That road has always been a two-way street, although while the ceremonial road was being built, it served as a one-way street for a while, but has since reverted to a two-way street. This road has virtually turned into a one-way street because people drive on the side of oncoming traffic (those who have turned off from the ceremonial road and are heading towards Labone/Cantonments). This always causes problems and blocks traffic in there.

Even more worrying is the fact that Police vehicles coming from the CID Headquarters hardly ever remain in the traffic jam. They are always the first to drive on the path of oncoming traffic, so as to avoid the traffic jam, even when there is no need for them to do so. If the Police are out on an urgent mission, they are more than welcome to overtake other cars and drive on the shoulders of the road to save the day. Sirens blazing, of course! However, when they drive on the path of oncoming traffic and on the shoulders of roads, when everyone can see that there is no real urgency to their trip and, therefore, no need for them to drive so recklessly, it encourages others to copy them and infuriate the rest of us law-abiding drivers, who are patiently waiting for our turn to get into the road.

In countries where the enforcement of road traffic regulations is taken seriously, the Police abide by the rules, except when there is an emergency and, therefore, permission for them to do otherwise. If we are really serious about enforcing road traffic regulations, respect for the rules has to start from the enforcers themselves and then the general populace will fall in line. If the enforcers will not respect the rules, the will find, by and by that they lack the cooperation needed from the general populace to enforce the laws.

Ghana Police, let us put an end to officially-sanctioned indiscipline on our roads and we would be making some progress on curbing indiscipline on the country’s roads.

Our Moped Menace

Our roads are unsafe because we have trotro and taxi drivers who stop in the middle of the road to pick up their passengers, turn off roads without using their trafficators and who over-speed in overloaded and poorly-maintained vehicles. While this is hard fact, there’s another menace on our roads – cyclists and motorcyclists... the mopeds who are a menace on our roads.

I don’t know who told cyclists and motorcyclists that they are not affected by traffic lights and traffic regulations that other motorists observe. Motorcyclists think they can jump red lights and weave in and out of cars, often, without crash helmets because they’re so special. I don’t blame them, because even when they jump red lights at intersections manned by the police, they don’t get pulled over. I’ve had one or two near misses in the last few months and frankly, they were pretty hair-raising experiences.

Some cyclists refuse to use the bicycle lanes assigned to them on some roads, such as the Legon – Tetteh Quarshie road, and instead, weave in and out of the lanes in which motorists drive at full speed.

I have only one half of the solution to this problem: since motorcyclists have to register their bikes and get licences, they must also be taught road traffic regulations and road signs and be tested when they renew their licenses. The police must pull them over and penalise them for breaking road traffic regulations, instead of allowing them to jump red lights with impunity.

Next question is what do we do about the bicycle riders?

This is very important and urgent, so MTTU, over to you!

Gosh!
I just realised I haven't posted anything for a whole year now! That's terrible! Anyway, I think I'll beg pardon by using this cliche Ghanaians love so much... better late than never! I'm back after a year-long break from everything to do with writing (well leisure stuff) with lots of fun and even more importantly, thought-provoking stuff to set us thingking and (hopefully) mending our ways.

Here's something I just can't stand about driving in Ghana... the way our motorcyclists and bikers ride on our roads. I call them Our Moped Menace! Coming up shortly. Hope it sets us all thinking!

WHAT ABOUT CREATIVITY?

I’ve been listening to people’s comments on Obrafuor’s latest song, “Kasiebo,” in which he takes a swipe at both Obuor and Okyeame Kwame. This song is really nice and has received massive airplay in Accra. If you haven’t heard it, or would like to listen to it, here's the video from youtube.





Although he disses Obuor for the latter’s assertion that hiplife is dead and for his songs “killing the game” and “atopa gyengyen,” it’s the jab at Okyeame Kwame for calling himself “The best rapper alive” that’s set tongues wagging. Some people have actually expressed the fear that some fans of Obrafuor and Okyeame Kwame could clash and the result could be bloodshed! What a joke, I say, what a joke! In Ghana? Chale, dis no be America oh! There isn’t going to be any of that East Coast-West Coast nonsense here, I can tell you that! Some things, I always say, are for those who are belly-full! If you have to walk all day in the hot sun, just so you can polish a few shoes and earn a few Ghana cedis, the last thing that’ll occur to you’ll be to go into some such foolish fight! If you get hurt and can’t work, how you go chop tomorrow? But that's going to be the topic of another discussion.

In Ghana, the things that get us that animated are food (i.e. access to food and money in our pockets), politics (related to food, since the party in power sometimes determines how much food you’ll get, if any at all) and religion (includes witchcraft). What do we care about two musicians trading artistic blows? For all any of us knows, it’s a ploy to increase publicity and, therefore, sales of the new song and subsequent replies. There’s already a reply to it by Bohyεba on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1aDNdVTp5I&feature=related. Now, what did I say about a ploy to promote Obrafuor’s song and its replies?

I’m disappointed, though, that for all the media attention given to this song, the song’s critics have been unable to see the creativity of the song and to commend the musician on it. Perhaps’ I’d better describe the song so you can follow my argument better. The song is in the form of a radio talk programme and features Guru, who acts as the host of the programme. Guru announces that they have a special surprise for listeners and that he has Obrafuor on the telephone, since audiences have been asking him to find out why Obrafuor’s been so quiet lately. Obrafuor ‘s surprised at the phone call and asks if he’s on air. Then the interview begins. The host asks him why he’s been absent, and even cites rumours that are supposed to have been circulating regarding Obrafuor’s silence. Obrafuor responds that he’s in town and that he’s back at the top. Well, he says a lot more than that, but that’s the summary. Then, satisfied with his answers, the host announces a commercial break, which is, in actual fact the chorus of the song.

After the chorus, the host returns to his interview, but finds that he has lost connection with Obrafuor (MTN?). To while away the time, the host presents a breaking news story, but goes right back to his interview when he gets Obrafuor back on the line. He then asks him his opinions about Okyeame Kwame calling himself “the best rapper alive,” even though he doesn’t have even 5 albums to his credit. Obrafuor’s answers, in summary, describe Okyeame Kwame as a braggart who will be brought to his knees eventually. The host then asks Obrafuor his opinions about Obuor’s assertion that hiplife is dead and about his rescuing it (hiplife) with “atopa gyengyen.” Obrafuor responds that he was totally unaware that hiplife was dead and says that musicians have to change to suit changing times. Since this is the end of the interview, the host signs off and the song soon ends.

I think the format of the song is really creative and unique and the artists need to be commended for their creativity. Obrafuor could very well have presented the song in the usual monologue of songs, but by choosing this format, he sort of gave the song an extra special touch. As usual, his lyrics were sound, as was his rhyming. It’s a great song by all accounts.
I’m not in any way promoting Obrafuor, but I’ll say that if any artist has a bone to pick with him over this song, let them find an equally, if not even more creative way of expressing it. We would very much appreciate the enhancement of creativity in our music. We need to raise the bar and if this the only way to do it, then so be it!