File photo : Bad road
Yes, a village boy from Zoonaayili who happens to run away from his community in search of greener pastures, who has never disconnected himself from his people. If he is not at Zoonaayili to welcome a new one, he will definitely be there to say goodbye to a late one.
As most people may know, there is no other means of transportation to Zoonaayili other than by road. Can you guess the road I use? You had it right. Tamale-Nanton-Gushegu-Karaga Highway! The name is intentionally elongated to send a signal down our spines that this road is applied by the three lions of Nanton, Karaga and Gushegu constituencies.
The wise one understands more in parables, the inept fellow understands more in plain language. In plain language, this road is applied by the Member of Parliament for Nanton, Karaga and Gushegu.
It is my strongest belief, that every user of the road will start getting disappointed at Gbanyamdi, a community on the road, then his/her plight intensifies as he/she moves on. One has to be very careful plying the road with a pregnant woman; otherwise, she will have a miscarriage.
Indeed, the egg seller who wants to run at bankruptcy in the twinkle of an eye, should try plying the Tamale-Nanton-Karaga-Gushegu Highway with his eggs. Not to dramatize the state of that road but, it is a killer!
One may question the morale behind this write-up as contractors are busily working on the road. Mr. Ibu will say “wei tin man no see before”. All the drama on the road started way back in 2016, when the contractors were busy on the road as if they were to deliver the Chinese government’s promise of building a COVID-19 isolation centre in ten days. The contractors on the road were so busy that one could think the road was going to be asphalted in no time.
Coincidentally, in 2016, a day to the general elections, I was going to Zoonaayili, and then at Zion community, I laughed alone like an imbecile. I heard one old man soliloquizing on the road. He passed comments about how busy the contractor was on the road.
He was like “look at lies, because it is election time, that is why you are doing all these, where were you all that while?” He added “we are not going to vote you!” I stopped, looked at him just to clarify my doubt that he was not insane, and indeed, he was normal. Just that he was speaking out of emotions and, for the fact that our minds have always been played with for a long time.
In fact, the Tamale –Gushegu –Karaga road has been in the news for its poor nature. In September 2012, Zaa Radio, a radio station based in Tamale, reported how flooded the road was, to an extent of cutting off communities and disrupting farming and economic activities in the area.
Just three months to the 2020 general elections, Citi TV reported how some residents of Nanton threatened to boycott the 2020 elections partly due to the deplorable nature of the road. With all these, one thinks work would have been fast tracked to get the road fixed. The slow nature of work on the road has made it worrying.
Thank God as at now, there is seemingly serious work going on the road. My question is; is this going to be many of the sorts we have been witnessing over the years? It does not have to be so! The Deputy Agric Minister, the Deputy Energy Minister and Deputy Roads and Transport Minister cannot be plying this road to their constituencies.
In 2016, the Tamale-Gushegu-Karaga road was one of the NDC’S messages to canvass votes. To a larger extent, the Tamale-Gushegu-Karaga road was captured as part of the 2016 composite budget of the Gushegu District Assembly. One could therefore expect the NPP government could be very smart to get the road fixed.
Indeed, the fixing of the road is long overdue.
With the current crop of great MPs plying the road, and happen to find themselves within the corridors of power, fixing the road is non-negotiable.
I can remember in the 2020 elections campaign season, the NDC used the stand-still-status of the road to campaign against the NPP and its candidates, arguing that, if they had won the 2016 presidential election, they would have continued and finished up works on the road.
Seemingly, there is serious work being put up by the contractors on the road, and with the rains approaching, if plans to fix the road are not fast tracked, the story would not be different from that of the previous years. The elders have it that; it serves a disgrace to a dog if a goat bites a stranger in town.
Yes, the NPP did that greatest job by campaigning for the first time, NPP winning both parliamentary and presidential elections at Nanton, Karaga and Gushegu Constituencies. Yes, they delivered the three seats for the NPP so, what else? Is this not enough to have their road fixed?
Alas, within the four year tenure of the NPP, if the Tamale-Gushegu-Karaga road is not fixed, that will be a big blow to the three lions on the road, and that of the NPP’s agenda to break the eight.
A word to a wise, is more than enough.
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