The loud noise and shouts of people selling their wares ‘pure water, pure water’ fanice fanice and all the other things wasn’t as devastating as the long queue I had to join, awaiting for a bus to the Eastern Region. We were finally blessed with a long bus VDL Jonckhere; I guess you should know by now which bus company I’m talking about, the Metro Mass Transit which is preferably called “Kufuor Bus” in recognition and appreciation of former president John Agyekum Kufuor for honoring his promise of re-introducing a mass rapid bus transit for metropolitan and municipalities throughout the country. Its establishment was quite easier thanks to companies such as State Insurance Company, National Investment Bank, Ghana Oil Company Limited, Agriculture Development Bank, Prudential Bank and SSNIT. The Government of Ghana had to hold only forty five percent of the shares and the fifty five percent shared by the companies named above. Over the years there is no doubt the Kufuor’ Bus has lived partially to its objective, after all in a country where less emphasis is placed on high standards it’s simpler to rate this B. We can also choose to forget the whole number of buses spoilt and left alone to rot in the garage at Kaneshie. Well if it wasn’t its provision of affordable transportation who would have queued for a government bus, the price difference between the Kufuor Bus and the other transports are so huge you don’t have an option than to endure the other negatives that come with it. Let’s come back to the story; I hopped into the backseat of the bus and decided to get acquainted with my co-passengers. After sitting down for about fifteen minutes it looked as if the bus wasn’t going to move ever, people who sold products such as dewormers, toffees, shoes, Fanice products, cocoa etc at the bus station where having a field day with passengers also buying to satisfy their needs, I used the opportunity to buy myself a Fan choco from one child who was the last person to come over to showcase his Ice Cream. A honorable man who should be in his early fifties sat right next to me and asked why all this while I didn’t buy anything from the elderly and chose to buy from the child, I responded ‘I always pitied young boys and girls who are forced to sell on the streets and therefore choose to buy only from them to enable them sell their things early and go back to school or home.’ The man advised that I should never buy from them, he went ahead to explain, I had very good intentions by buying from them but with me rather buying makes the business attractive for their guardians and the children who will rather like to make more money than to go to school and that if no one buys from them those who engage them in such businesses will be forced to stop and that will give them the opportunity to join their other colleagues who are busily securing their future in various schools. I knew what the man was saying made sense, but wouldn’t these children rather be beaten for their inability to make enough sales I quickly added and the man retorted “spare the rod and spoil the child”. His level of thinking made our conversation very very interesting and within some few minutes we were chatting like people who have known each other for years. We spoke and spoke and spoke till there was nothing to say anymore. All this while I have been feeling very hot and shouted to the conductor “Boss can you please ask the driver to switch the funs on” yes my eyes never lied to me I could see a lot of funs fixed above the various seats with the inscription fun embossed on it. The conductor only replied by saying “you paa are you not a Ghanaian”, if you can’t stay in this car why don’t you find an air condition bus and board. Some people on the bus began to laugh. It has always being this way, and we’ve always been enduring the heat like that, one lady said. I was very insulted by the comments of the conductor, in normal circles someone I would have called “Mate”. If the fun wasn’t working he could have simply said so than giving me that unpleasant response. But as the car moved on, there was some free flow of air which made me feel quite okay, before I could say JACK, my eyes have been shut by the air and was already dosing off. I felt like flying through the sky and a very sharp pain passed through my spine and then to my waist. My eyes were wide open out of fear, thinking we have been involved in an accident, only to be told by the man sitting right next to me it’s the speed ramp. He went on to explain that the car’s shock absorbers were all spoilt and that whenever the car approaches a speed ramp he had to stay on his feet until it lands back on the road. Before he could end his lecture there was another speed ramp, he quickly went on his feet and I forgot to do the same, the pain of the up and down went through my spine and then to my waist. I said oh my God, this thing can easily turn me into a cripple. I asked myself what will happen to people who travel on daily basis using this means of transport. Are these people not going to have a lifetime spinal or waist effects? On the Mallam-Winneba road, which I believe has the highest number of ramps in Ghana, made our ordeal seem like a hell on earth and the trip like a three day journey. After all, if I wouldn’t be able to have some funs blowing air to drive away heat in this bus, can’t we also have our health secured? I am not exaggerating, but come to think of it, shock absorbers as the name implies are to absorb the shock that the wheels of the car produce and reduce its effect on a passenger aboard, so if this things are spoilt and people in charge refuse to check and change them, are they taking the health of their clients into consideration or not? A lot of pregnant women have miscarriage due to their ignorance of such effects on them and their unborn baby. I write about the Metro Mass Transit in a very positive sense, it actually happens to be the choice of most patrons within and outside the capital and has a lot of people using their services on a daily basis. I have been on the bus and have had my fair share of this unpleasant treatment, I know very well those who use other means of transport will have their own problems affecting them on daily basis to share, but I will make an appeal to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to put their men on the grounds to check these problems. I will also like to make a passionate appeal to the transport operators to check their buses on daily basis to safeguard and protect the lives of their customers. Like the song Ghanaian music group VIP composed sometime ago “sisi na ade3 womu” advising that if you don’t take care of your waist, you can’t go to work, if you don’t take care of it, your wife will divorce you. Every part of the human body has a special function and without it nothing can be done correctly. Don’t joke with your waist now, if not you will have a lot of unimaginable problems in future. Talk less, say more. Thanks for reading and as usual let me know your comments, ideas and directives.