Bolgatanga- Bawku Road: A Cry Gone Dead?

Yearsback, the state of Bolgatanga- Bawku road was discussed by almost every media outlet in the Upper East Region and beyond. Youths of Bawku in 2012 together with commercial drivers protested about the terrible and disgusting nature of the road that leads to one of the nations’ busiest commercial towns. The protest eventually led to commercial drivers refusing to ply the road, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. As expected in an election year, heavy duty vehicles and equipment were moved to the site and the supposed fixing begun.

Three years after elections, everything has gone dead silent. The heavy duty vehicles and equipment have disappeared from the site with no trace of their where about. Protesters have hanged their placards, media outlets seldom discuss the state of the road. The cry of the people have been spurned by the authorities and their voices buried in silence. After all, who cares when a monkey runs diarrhea?

It beats my imagination as to why a road that links Ghana to Northern Togo, and serves as a route for landlocked nations such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to access the port thus generating revenue for the country, is in such a tattered and neglected state.

A trip from Bolga to Bawku is not a pleasant experience at all, most sections of the road apart from losing its’ tarred coat to ageing and hence producing a lot of dust that reduces visibility to nearly zero has a lot of bumpy and uneven surfaces that has the propensity to induce labour in pregnant women. The least talk about potholes the better.

One would have thought that the rather volatile nature of Bawku would have compelled authorities to keep the road in a good state for quick and easy deployment of security personnel and or referral of emergencies as the case may be. Is the government of the day waiting for precious lives to be sacrificed on the road in exchange for a radical action while blaming evil forces? Could it be that someone is waiting for 2016 to score political points? I’m afraid that may be late. Could it be an attempt to cut off Bawku and its’ environs from the rest of the country? I doubt this either.

Whatever the reasons may be, the people of Bawku, Zebilla and their environs deserves to have the road fixed. It must be fixed unconditionally.

Written by;
Douglas Avoka
(Concern Ghanaian)
[email protected]
0244648812