“Good afternoon all. My
name is Ola. Don’t call
me driver. If you do,
I will not answer you.
You will pardon me for any inconven-
ience you will encounter as we manoeu-
vre through the bad portions of our road
here in Nigeria. Once we navigate pass
Nigeria, I assure you of a pleasant ride to
Ghana.”
Above was how the driver whose bus I
boarded to Ghana late last year greeted
us. It was a pleasant Tuesday afternoon.
I find it amusing listening to the no non-
sense driver as he soon accelerated en-
route Accra.
Each border we passed through had its
unique experience as the immigration of-
ficers carried out routine checks on trav-
ellers passing through the borders. In all
it was not a very pleasant experience. At
our own side, there were so much bot-
tlenecks and dilly dallying. Things were
much faster at the other sides of the bor-
der with neighbouring countries.
Crossing through Seme border, we
had a smooth ride all the way. You could
hardly spot any pot holes on the road.
There was serenity. The experience was
similar as we drove through Togo until
we arrived Ghana on the early hours of
Wednesday.
My friend and I boarded a taxi to
St Theresa Catholic Church to attend
morning mass. The experience was a
most pleasant one. There was much
clapping and dancing as we recited the
halleluiah.
The mass over, my friend and I checked
in at Mary immaculate Home, Dzorwu-
lu, managed by some Catholic Rev Sisters
The purpose of my visit to Ghana was to
attend a two day conference organised
by world family congress. I was spon-
sored by foundation for African cultural
heritage, an NGO that seeks to promote
the rich Africa values in the family.
The hostel looked neat and affordable.
My friend and I checked in. Later in the
day we came out to look around to grab
a meal. It was not difficult finding a good
restaurant and settled for a rich meal. I
must say the food was good.
While I must confess that the confer-
ence was well worth it, educative and
enriching, we also took time to embark
on a brief tour of the city. First was a visit
to Makola market. It was quite a big mar-
ket, just like the type you can find in a
typical Nigerian city. In order to have a
more enriching feel of the city my friend
and I decided to explore it using public
buses. It was fun seeing passengers col-
lecting their changes in coins rather than
the paper money we are used to here. I
wondered when last I was privileged to
hold a coin in my palm. The country side
was generally neat and the air refreshing.
The next morning being Sunday, we
took a taxi to the Accra Cathedral to
attend the Mass. The Mass was said in
both their local dialect and the English
language. Again, I noticed the clapping
of hands by all, including the priest dur-
ing the recitation of the Gloria. I enjoyed
every bit of the homily even though it
seemed to me like the longest I have ever
listened to in a while.
The Sunday wasn’t going to be com-
plete if we failed to explore the best sites
in Ghana. A new friend we made at the
conference suggested we visit the Aburi
garden, the famous place where Late
Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Gen-
eral Yakubu Gowon signed the popular
peace accord.
About 1 pm, we got into a taxi for our
unforgettable trip to the Aburi gardens, a
town away from Accra. At the entrance
we were asked to pay 20 Ghana cedis for
adults. The entrance fee for children was
10 Ghana cedis. The site and aura of the
Aburi gardens was an enchanting one.
We took a stroll around and posed for
some pictures. I observed that most of
the trees there had inscriptions on them,
detailing their names, when they were
planted and by who.
Ahead of us, we could see the rusting
ruins of an helicopter that had crashed at
the garden many years back. I wondered
why they had chosen to keep it there. Fi-
nally, we got to the main building where
the famous peace treaty was signed.
What first struck me at this point was the
cool atmosphere and beautiful work of
nature which made me appreciate God
the more. We would have loved to stay
longer, but we had also planned to visit
the Dr. kwame Nkrumah museum be-
fore the end of the day.
The bus ride back to Accra was pleas-
ant owing to the breathtaking view of the
city. Aburi is located on top of the hill.
Finally we arrived the Dr. kwame Nkru-
mah Museum. It was forbidden to take
pictures so we made due with enjoying
the beauty of the various art works on
display.
The few days I stayed in Accra was fun.
I noticed orderliness on their roads and
there was constant power supply. The
streets are neat; you can walk around
any time of the day because of good se-
curity network. While there, I attended
masses in three different parishes; St
Theresa Catholic Church, St Francis Xa-
vier Catholic Church and the Holy Spirit
Cathedral. The structures are not just big
but beautiful, inside and outside, with
adequate parking space for cars.
On my return journey I had a smooth
transition from Ghana to Seme. On en-
tering our border, it was obvious.
