It’s easy to complain.
In fact, complaining has become a national sport in Ghana.
We do it in buses, at chop bars, on radio shows, on WhatsApp groups—
even in our sleep.
But beyond the banter, beyond the sarcasm and the hashtags,
beyond the heated political arguments and tribal blame games,
the real question remains:
What next?
We can’t fix broken roads with tweets.
We can’t repair buses with sighs.
We can’t build a better Ghana with silence, cynicism, or sectional thinking.
What we need now, more than ever,
is a collective awakening—
A shift from passive endurance to active citizenship.
Let’s be clear: The North is not alone in this.
From the coast of Axim to the plains of Yendi,
From the pothole-ridden chaos of Accra
to the dust-choked paths of Ejura,
this is a national disgrace.
Bad roads.
Broken infrastructure.
Neglected communities.
Empty promises.
This suffering has no tribe, no region, no political colour.
And only a united national effort can fix it.
We must demand better—
Not just during election years when politicians suddenly discover our towns,
but every single day.
We must challenge our leaders—
Not with violence,
but with voice,
with facts,
with presence,
with accountability.
Let us:
Speak up at town hall meetings. Support journalists who risk their lives to expose rot and negligence. Engage in civil, respectful discourse—not tribal or partisan warfare. Refuse to normalize bad roads, bad buses, and bad leadership. Encourage young people to not just survive the mess—but lead the cleanup.
Because our greatest weapon is not a protest sign.
It is unity.
Unity in voice.
Unity in purpose.
Unity in demanding what we deserve.
Change is not a miracle.
Change is a movement.
And that movement begins when one person decides
that enough is enough.
Today, I am that person.
Tomorrow, it must be you.
And together—
Maybe, just maybe—
Our children will one day take a bus from Tamale to the Upper West,
And they’ll laugh.
Not because of pain,
But because they’ll never understand how we ever lived like this for so long.
#Puobabangna
(The Northern Roads, the Shaky Buses, and the Deafening Silence)
By Victor Raul Puobabangna from Eggu, in the Upper West Region of Ghana
