Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Travelling to Kumasi by a public transport could be frustratingly annoying. Some years ago, I went to Kumasi for a visit and my experience was bad.
I mostly get my writing ideas when I am sitting idle, and it happens often when I am travelling on a long journey as a passenger. I, therefore, thought my journey to Kumasi that day was going to be beneficial, but I was wrong. There were many interruptions and distractions which broke my train of thought.
Right from Nsawam, drug peddlers kept hopping in and out of the bus one after the other. Each of them exhibited their respective marketing prowess by trying to convince passengers with sententious rhetoric as to the efficacy of their drugs: and in all cases, we were made to believe that one drug had the potency of curing as many as 15 ailments or more!
And the name of one such drug is tinkalo. I was filled with a commingling of anger and pity as gullible passengers jumped over themselves for the drugs based on how convincing a peddler sounded. The worst part of the journey was yet to be experienced.
About 10 kilometres after Konongo, an old woman told the driver to stop at Konongo. Most of the passengers responded in unison that we had passed that town. The old woman insisted that the driver drive back. We were all puzzled, and we protested. The woman pushed further with her demand amidst tears.
Eventually, it was agreed that since Konongo was just a few minutes' drive away, she should be sent back. We went back to Konongo and the door of the bus was opened for her to get down, but she was glued to her seat. She opened the lid of a bottle of water, unwrapped a polythene bag and took some tablets. She then signalled the driver to drive on. We were mad at her.
We got to know later that she was on medication and ought to take her drugs in three hours' time. Her daughter had calculated that the bus would get to Konongo in three hours, and so told her mother to take her medication when the bus got to Konongo.
Interesting story, isn't it? When Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said he will choose Ghana card over 1,000 interchanges, people thought he was joking.
It did not surprise me at all when he announced not long ago that Ghanaians will soon buy cars with their Ghana Cards as part of his plan to digitalise the economy.
This is no longer funny, Dr. Bawumia seems to be behaving like drug peddlers on public buses who sell one drug for almost all maladies; Ghanaians seem to be getting weary of this campaign message and are showing signs of indifference. Little wonder he has gone quiet of late. Sosket, things are really knocking things.