For a period of my life, I drove for Bolt and Yango across Accra. I wasn’t just transporting passengers. I was unknowingly conducting one of the largest unofficial field studies in the city.

Every night, I gathered primary data with no questionnaires, no focus groups and no PowerPoint presentations. Just thousands of kilometres behind the steering wheel.

One thing became abundantly clear:
Accra has two shift managers. One works from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The other takes over after 10:00 p.m. and unfortunately, he rarely reports for duty.

Road conditions become more dangerous. Darkness takes over major roads. Police visibility declines.

One road that constantly left me wondering is the Pantang stretch. Chaley, that road has suffered for far too long. The road is riddled with potholes and has deteriorated significantly. What makes this even more concerning is that this stretch leads to one of Ghana’s most important mental health facilities, serving countless families across the country. Why has such a critical route been left in this condition?

Driving there at night often feels like taking part in an obstacle course. Sometimes I wasn’t avoiding potholes The potholes were avoiding each other.

To make matters worse, several sections have inadequate or non-functioning street lights, making navigation extremely difficult, especially for drivers unfamiliar with the route.

Then there is another observation that never stopped surprising me.

Several times I noticed stretches around Flagstaff House, the seat of Ghana’s Presidency, without functioning street lighting.

If this is part of a deliberate security strategy, then that is understandable.

But if it is simply because the lights are not working, then we should all be concerned.

If the area around the Presidency can go dark, imagine the condition of communities with far less visibility.

The Tema Motorway presents another challenge.Large sections remain poorly illuminated at night.Some people say street lights are stolen. Others blame maintenance. Whichever explanation is correct, ordinary Ghanaians still drive through darkness.

I also observed something that deserves national attention.

After about 2:00 a.m., police visibility on many routes drops significantly. Some checkpoints become inactive. Some appear unmanned. On a few occasions, officers appeared to be resting while vehicles continued moving through.

I am not suggesting this happens everywhere or every night. However, what I consistently witnessed raises legitimate questions.

Reduced night-time policing creates opportunities for criminal activity, including drug trafficking, robbery, illegal transportation of goods, and reckless driving.

The night economy deserves the same level of protection as the daytime economy.

Rather than simply complaining, I believe there are practical solutions that can make a real difference.

A public road maintenance dashboard, so citizens can track reported defects, the agencies responsible, and repair timelines.

Regular night-time infrastructure audits to assess roads, lighting, signals, and security under the conditions people actually experience them in.

Smart street lighting with remote fault detection, paired with stronger safeguards against vandalism and theft.

Data-driven policing that deploys officers based on traffic patterns and crime hotspots, not just static checkpoints.

Priority maintenance for roads serving hospitals, schools, and other essential public facilities.

A simple digital channel for riding-hailing, taxi, truck, and commercial drivers. thse are people who spend thousands of hours on our roads to report potholes, faulty lighting, and safety concerns.

Published, measurable performance indicators for road conditions, street-light functionality, repair times, and emergency response. The people who see Ghana at midnight often see a completely different Ghana from those who work in offices during the day.

Perhaps we should spend less time arguing about whose political party built the road and more time asking why we are still dodging potholes that are old enough to vote.

Infrastructure is not political.
Safety is not political.
Good governance should not go to bed at 10:00 p.m.

Sometimes, the best national audit doesn’t happen in a boardroom. It happens from behind the steering wheel at 2:00 a.m., when the rest of the city is asleep.