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Thursday 14 June 2012

What are We?

What are Ghanaians? Accommodating or hospitable. I'm asking this question as a result of a few rather interesting things that happend in a couple of trotros I took yesterday.  However you look at it, being an Accraian (shout outs to @AntiRhythm for that word that describes someone who lives in Accra), I am a very experienced troski customer. They've been my main source of transport for a good amount of my life, from my basic school days right till now as I try to make some sense out of this life and some money along the way.
the long bus I boarded on my way to the Chale Wote street festival
A young drunk man happened to join the first bus I boarded at Kaneshie to Odorkor. Chale, the guy was mad drunk and was literally melting down his seat. The troski was full of funny comments about how drunk he was on a work night and if he could find his way home. nobody really seemed to insult him or say anything bad about him; just funny 'ol comments about drunks in local languages.

Then I get to Mallam to pick the last bus to my hood, Gbawe. A lot happened in this one. I wonder if I have the dexterity with words to be able to  paint a good picture of them all. First, the troski mate was as funny as hell, even from the way he welcomed passengers into the bus et al, one would know this was going to be an interesting ride. Then the journey begun. Even before the bus moved there was this chic sitting in the corner seat behind me. 

A few minutes into the journey the driver stopped by a popular drive-by bakery along the Mallam - Gbawe road to get some bread. You should have seen how much murmuring and ''what-kind-of-service-is-this-?'' chants he earned himslef from the passengers. The driver seemed a nice guy as he didn't respond to any of the ''blastings'' from the passengers. Back to the chic, she might probably have been returning from some mid-week church service of sorts. She was singing slow gospel songs as spiritually as one could sing them. Not quietly ooo, loud enough for the driver and the others in the front seat to hear her.  But nobody complained, even though it was clear that everybody didn't like her disturbing the peace in the troski. So why didn't anybody just ask her to STFU? Is it because we like people to feel comfortable at our expense or we are afraid to stand for what's ours? why did the driver get the bad treatment in this case?

But then like a few minutes more than half way through the journey, the singing chic got down. You should have been there to hear the comments and humor created out of her sing-aloud-troski-venture. People were clearly not happy with what she was doing and yet allowed her to continue...hmm..Ghana!

Things like this confuse me daily about who and what Ghanaians are and what they really stand for and believe in.

And I'm pretty sure this piece could have been written far better and have been made more interesting by a better writer..I just hope you get the message I was trying to put across though.
Have a great day!


2 comments:

  1. Good one Theo, trust me no one could have written it better. By the way a few things that could have avoided the "trotro" driver blasting and "chic" singing murmering" : I am guessing that the Driver got the blasting because he was the one providing the main service and should have had the courtesy to tell the passengers he was going to stop and get bread on the way. I am not sure if that would have avoided the mass blasting but then i am certain it would have reduced it to single digit blasting if not one or none. For the other incident of the "chic" singing i am guessing if there was a tape playing in the "trotro" her singing would have been under tone or yet still within.

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  2. I simply should have been in the trotro.i missed.mutombo

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