The Ameer and Missionary-in-Charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Ghana, Alhaji Maulvi Noor Mohammed Bin Salih, has used a personal experience to highlight the longstanding poor condition of roads leading to Wa, saying the situation has persisted for as long as he can remember.

The Ameer made the observation when he welcomed delegates to Wa for the Majlis Ansarullah (Elders) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at Nasrat Jahan.

The gathering brought together elders from across Ghana and delegates from Nigeria, Benin and Burkina Faso.

Welcoming the delegates to what he described as his hometown, Alhaji Bin Salih apologised for the poor state of the road network and recounted a conversation he once had with someone in Accra about the condition of roads in the Upper West Regional capital.

He said that when the person complained that “Wa road is very bad", he disagreed, insisting that the Kumasi road was the one that was bad at the time.

He said his perspective changed after his son visited Wa for the first time and questioned the state of the road.

According to the Ameer, his son, who was then very young, asked:

“Daddy, this road, was it good before but became bad because of constant use?”

He said his response was revealing of how long the problem had persisted.

“I told him, No my son, since I was born, this road has always been like this,” the Ameer recounted.

‘I would have joined them’

Alhaji Bin Salih further recalled that while receiving medical treatment in India, he saw reports on social media about residents of the Upper West Region agitating over the condition of the roads and presenting a petition to the government.

He said the development made him wish he had been in the region to participate in the advocacy.

“I said to myself, these citizens of the Upper West haven't done me any good. They should have waited for me to come; I would have joined them to present that petition,” he said, to applause from the gathering.

Despite the difficulties associated with travelling to the region, he expressed optimism about Ghana’s future, saying the commitment of members of the Ahmadiyya Community continued to give him hope.

He said their efforts made him believe that Ghana still had the capacity to overcome its challenges.

“Ghana is not finished; we shall make it, Insha Allah.”

Road concerns

The Ameer’s comments come against the backdrop of longstanding concerns about road infrastructure in the Upper West Region, where residents and other stakeholders have repeatedly called for improvements to key routes linking the region to other parts of the country.

The road network is particularly important to the region because of its role in facilitating the movement of people, agricultural produce, goods and services between communities and major commercial centres.

For delegates travelling from other parts of Ghana and neighbouring countries to attend the Majlis Ansarullah, the condition of some roads also formed part of the practical challenges associated with reaching Wa.

Alhaji Bin Salih’s remarks therefore combined a light-hearted personal recollection with a broader expression of concern about infrastructure and development in the region.

He also used the occasion to remind the elders that their responsibilities extended beyond the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to the wider Ghanaian society.

“We must know that we have a mission for this country. The future of this country is in our hands. If the country fails, we sitting down here are the ones who have failed the country.”

He added:

“We are elders of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Our wives, our children, our grandchildren — we are their leaders. If we get the message right, the message will go to everybody.”