Accra Is Horny: Testimonies of a Bolt Driver

If you think Accra sleeps after midnight, then Chaley, you’ve been sleeping while Accra has been working overtime. As a Bolt driver doing night shifts last year, I realized that after 10 p.m., the city changes management.

The nightlife in Accra leaves a lot to be desired. At almost every major junction from Pokuase to Amasaman, Achimota to Dome, Lapaz to Madina, and Tema to Ashaiman Dansoman to Agbogba you’ll find young women waiting for their next “customers”. Osu is the headquarters.

At one point, I started asking myself, “Am I driving Bolt or conducting a tour of Accra’s unofficial night economy?”

Sometimes a passenger would enter the car and casually say, “Boss, just pass this corner small.” If you’ve driven in Accra before, you know that “this corner small” can come with a whole movie. Chaley, the things a Bolt driver sees, even Netflix has not produced them yet.

But jokes aside, this is no laughing matter.
What I witnessed was not just about nightlife. It pointed to a deeper social challenge. Many of these young women may be there because of unemployment, financial hardship, family pressure, exploitation, or a lack of better opportunities.

The saddest part is that some fall into the hands of criminals, traffickers, or violent individuals. Some become victims of abuse, while others disappear without receiving much public attention.

There is also a serious public-health dimension that cannot be ignored. Unregulated and high-risk sexual activity can increase exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Without proper awareness, protection, testing, and access to healthcare, both those involved and their clients may face long-term health consequences. This does not affect only individuals; it can also place additional pressure on families, communities, and the healthcare system.

As drivers, we hear conversations passengers do not know we are listening to. I had several opportunities to speak with passengers involved in hookups, and from those conversations, it became clear that this is a growing underground economy.

We have to collectively start asking the difficult questions.

Another worrying trend I observed was the presence of women from other West African countries, including some who said they had come from Nigeria and other neighbouring countries, participating in the commercial sex trade.

Our Nigerian sisters and other African sisters should not automatically be treated as the problem. Some may be acting independently, while others may be victims of trafficking, deception, coercion, or organized exploitation. The real question is: Who recruited them, who transported them, who controls them, and who is making money from their vulnerability?

If criminal networks are bringing women across borders for exploitation, the kingpins behind those operations must be hunted, investigated, prosecuted, and, where applicable, deported in accordance with Ghanaian law.

No country should become a safe haven for transnational criminal networks. Ghana has every right to enforce its immigration and criminal laws. Foreign nationals found to be involved in unlawful activities should face due process, including deportation where the law permits. At the same time, genuine victims of trafficking must be identified, protected, and supported rather than punished alongside those exploiting them.

The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Police Service, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, local assemblies, and other relevant state institutions must work together to investigate organized networks involved in trafficking, exploitation, and illegal commercial activities.

This is bigger than morality. It is about protecting lives, creating opportunities, enforcing the law, and giving vulnerable people a genuine path away from exploitation. It is also about the economic cost to the nation—lost productivity, increased healthcare expenditure, criminal activity, broken families, and the long-term damage to communities.

Addressing the issue will require more than occasional arrests or public condemnation. It demands intelligence-led investigations, stronger border monitoring, employment opportunities, public-health education, rehabilitation programmes, healthcare access, and social support.

Accra deserves to be known for opportunities and not desperation.

What I saw behind the steering wheel was not just another night shift. It was a mirror reflecting uncomfortable realities about the city we all call home.

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