Tro tro and inscriptions

Tro tros are one interesting form of public transport in Ghana. Just take a day to observe them and you might laugh your rips off. Looking for an inspirational message in the morning? You can find some behind a tro tro. I sought to research more into the inscriptions and names behind most pubic transport and believe me it was full of fun and lessons to learn. The names, as I have come to observe, may be written according to the state of the car, the nature or behavior of the drivers, or some past experience one must have had and even the religious belief of the driver.

 In Ghana inscriptions may either be in English but quiet often are in the local dialect. Most of us might not pay attention to these inscriptions and names because probably we have our own car and most often in a hurry. I board tro tro virtually all week to school and I have come across very interesting inscriptions. One that caught my eye was ‘wo besi wↄe’ which is in Akan language meaning ‘where will you alight”. The driver is obviously assuring you that wherever your destination, his car can take you there. You find yourself stuck in traffic early in the morning and a tro tro driver crosses you. Being  furious u look behind the tro tro and it says ‘forgive and forget’. You probably will smile and feel it’s a human being that was speaking directly to you.

 In my research I came across inscription that said ‘nkraa wↄ fie’. This literally means there are children at home. Curious as I was I sought to find out the reason behind this inscription. The driver who gave his name as Isaac said he wrote that to let people know that he has children to take care of so they should bored his tro tro so he can earn money to take care of them. He believes people will be moved by the message.

Another inscription was ‘enye m’ahoↄden’ which means ‘it is not by my strength’. Such inscriptions are often by drivers who are highly religious and believe that it is not by their own might but the work of God. There are others such as

Foate

Pentecost fire

Kekeli (which is an Ewe word for light or brightness)

Monkey dey work

No mistake no correction

Let them say

Suro nipa (fear humans)

Obosam mpo suro  (which means even the devil is afraid)

No Jesus no life

AbotrƐ na ƐyƐ  which means patience is the best

                It is interesting how some of these  inscriptions go contrary to the behaviour and attitudes of the drivers and their conductors.