In a sharply reflective and painfully relatable Facebook post sighted by MyNewsGh, Ghanaian academic and Oxford University lecturer George Asiamah lays bare the daily reality of traveling from Accra to Kumasi — not just through the lens of an economist, but from the lived experience of an everyday Ghanaian forced to weigh cost against safety.
What begins as a witty tale of choosing VIP over Passion Air due to a staggering price difference quickly transforms into a searing critique of Ghana’s infrastructural neglect, government priorities, and the quiet endurance of citizens on dangerous roads.
Below is the original post, unedited:
When I told my cousin, I have landed in Accra, and I am coming to Kumasi. She quickly screamed, “Please fly! The road is very bad.”
So, I checked. Passion Air. One way? GHC 1300
And, I looked at VIP bus. GHC 120. Less than one-tenth the price. That means I can save GHC 1,180. I told myself: “GHC 1,180 is as double the monthly salary of an average shop attendant in Accra.”
Now, let me confess. I have a degree in Economics, and a UK borga. That combo is a dangerous mix! I’m the type who goes to KFC, calculates marginal utility per cedi, and ends up buying waakye instead. 
And oh, I remember, Uncle Ray warned me before I left for Ghana, “They say UK borgas are ‘pɛpɛɛ’ ɛnti, kɔ na kɔte y’anim…” Sorry Uncle Ray, I failed that assignment with distinction. I’ve added graphs, models, and Pareto curves to the pɛpɛɛyɛ.
I chose road. I chose VIP
Now let’s talk time. Flight: 30 minutes. Road: used to be 4 hours; now it’s 8. Why? Because we’re not just driving – we’re enduring. But for GHC 1,180 savings, I will sacrifice those 7.5 hours – and offer them as a burnt offering to the god of Opportunity Cost.
At one point, our VIP bus tried to overtake six overloaded cargo trucks, which has formed a convoy, moving at the speed of a pregnant tortoise. Just when we were mid-way, a minibus appeared at full speed from the opposite direction.
I saw my life flash before me. Only the grace of God (and perhaps the minibus driver’s reflexes) saved us from a fiery headline: “Tragedy on the Accra-Kumasi road – Again!”
Forget the economics for a second. Let’s talk life. Every month, that stretch of road claims bodies. Not occasionally. Regularly. Persistently.
When COVID came, and the global elite were threatened, we locked down, and held emergency press conferences. But it’s just bad roads, so we offer prayers, organize funerals, and move on – until the next one.
That stretch of road is a reflection of our priorities as a country. A nation that builds cathedrals faster than highways. A country where flying is for the rich and dying is for the poor. A country where potholes grow fatter than the GDP.
Accra – Kumasi must be declared a national emergency. Not next year. Not after an election. Now. For every life lost on that road is not just a statistic. It is a vote of no confidence in our collective sense of urgency.
And while political elites fly over our problems in comfort, the rest of us keep dodging death in VIP buses with no VVIP protection.
So next time you hear “stay safe,” don’t think of armed robbers or Covid. Think of the road. Because in Ghana, the journey itself is the real emergency.
