Crazy day in the capital (Accra)

It was one of those hot days and Accra was being its usual busy self bustling with activity and of course the usual sweaty bodies swathed with odours that would make even the huge rubbish-filled, choked drains screw up their noses in disgust. The city just like the country itself was as fascinating as the rainbow; each suburb more different and unique than the other.

Spanner junction is one of the very interesting traffic stops in the capital. One of the reasons is because it is the “gateway” to the Accra Mall where every person who likes to think they know “what’s up” like to be seen. At that traffic stop just like any other, hawkers take advantage of the red light to sell their wares to passengers and drivers. You will hear the usual “Yes, pure waita.” And there’s always that one driver of a private vehicle who will have a face-off with that guy who walks up to the car with his accoutrements and starts to wash it without as much as a greeting. This sometimes ends in the windscreen washer apologizing and the driver driving off in anger after having “sorted out” the windscreen guy.

Crossing from one side of the road to the other seems like such a herculean task. Every pedestrian seems to either be in some sort of a hurry or be running late for some appointment. Waiting for the traffic light to indicate to them when it’s safe to cross seems like forever so they would rather snake through the traffic hoping against hope that they do not get hit by a motor cyclist who has such wanton disregard for traffic regulations.

Every once in a while, something fascinating happens with our public transport system; the trotro service, passengers sit in trotros sometimes bracing themselves for any eventuality like a flat tyre or the vehicle breaking down at any point in their journey but what happens is something that is  totally unexpected. On this fateful day, two spectacles unfold on both sides of the Spanner junction. For passengers on the side of the road leading to Accra is a trotro whose door will not open. The mate with all the experience he has gathered on trotros over the years uses all the tricks he knows but to no avail. The driver gets off and also starts to do his magic, meanwhile other drivers and their mates shout out suggestions to the driver as if it is something they deal with everyday. The passengers who are beginning to get agitated start looking for ways to get off the vehicle. One smartly dressed guy squeezes himself through the tiny space between the driver’s seat and the front passenger seat, opens the passenger door and hops off, the others follow his lead. As they get off, some begin to find the situation humorous and start to laugh, the on-lookers join in. Others who feel their time has been wasted saunter off with scowls on their faces.

At the other side of the road, a trotro stops abruptly and passengers start jumping off and running as far away from the vehicle as they can. This draws some attention to the vehicle, the people who looked like they were running late for some appointment suddenly have all the time in the world to investigate what is going on. Turns out the vehicle has over heated which is the reason for the smoke being emitted from the engine area. The cute little Sahara children who are sent by their parents to beg for money are also captivated by the scene; some of the pedestrians who notice this take advantage of the situation to slip away from the scene to avoid being hassled by these children for money that has already been budgeted for.

-WFM