Kola Muhammed

For a budget out-of-the-country adventure and vacation, Ghana is a good place to start. <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/i-travelled-to-ghana-on-a-budget-heres-how-you-can-do-it-too-travelogue/3wd2ymr">I have already done a breakdown of how to go about the trip, the cost and other logistics.</a>

Ghana and Nigeria have a lot in common starting from colonial masters to the official language. These notwithstanding, there are a lot of things that won’t naturally appeal to you or come off as weird.

<h3>But acclimatising to life in the city of Accra, Ghana, is another thing entirely and these tips will give you a solid heads-up.</h3>

What to expect as a Nigerian visiting Ghana for the first time

The socio-economic situation of Nigeria will also make you marvel at some realities in Ghana while a few of the beliefs you thought were true about Ghanaians would be unfounded.

And when you finally make the trip to the Gold Coast, these are 8 things you should expect:

<h3>The spread of Nigerian music</h3>

Perhaps the first thing that’ll jump at you is how Nigerian music has taken over Ghana's airwaves. If you take a cab that tunes in to a radio station playing music, you’d hear many Nigerian songs before hearing a track from Black Sherif or Sarkodie.

Burna Boy, Asake, Ayra Starr, Kizz Daniel are a few of the Nigerian artistes whose songs enjoy a lot airplay in Ghana

Burna Boy, Asake, Ayra Starr, Kizz Daniel

Hitting it in Nigeria more often than not translates to blowing up in Ghana as well. Kizz Daniel, Adekunle Gold and Ayra Starr’s songs were the first I heard on entering Accra. I almost looked around to see if I wasn’t back in Lagos.

<h3>Constant power supply</h3>

Electricity supply in Ghana is as constant as K in Physics. When there is a power outage, you simply hear the people say light out. Excuse me? Some parts of Nigeria, it’s total blackout. Throughout the two weeks I stayed, there was ‘light out’ twice, the first was for about 2 hours, the second 5 minutes.

This surely makes the ease-of-doing-business index of Ghana way higher than Nigeria’s. Small and medium-scale businesses need not spend a fortune to generate power.

<h3>&nbsp;Bus conductors as mates</h3>

Those you angrily call conductors in Lagos, Ghanaians see them as mates. One can only imagine calling a danfo bus conductor mate, the way he’d look at such a person and respond, the response will ring in the person’s head for days.

Bus conductors are known as mates in Ghana

“Hey mate, where's my change?” Hilarious.

<h3>Bikes are not really a thing</h3>

People hardly take bikes in Accra. It’s usually a last resort. The popular trend of bikes and tricycles turning street junctions into terminals is rare in Accra. They trek a lot intra-street and heavily depend on 18-seater buses.

Motorcycles are not that popular in Ghana

The easiest explanation for this has to be their population. The population of the entire country is around 32 million while Accra’s is around 2.6 million - paltry when compared to Nigeria’s.

<h3>No uniformly-painted commercial vehicles</h3>

Although Ghana’s population relies heavily on buses for road transport, the buses do not have a uniform paint, unlike the yellow danfo buses in Lagos with black stripes. It is the liquor-battered voices of the mates that will make you know that a commercial bus is approaching.

<h3>The English accent</h3>

There is a vast difference between how Nigerians and Ghanaians speak English, especially in the accent and pronunciation. It would be weird at first to hear them pronounce bus as bas, structure as stractcha, among other pronunciations. In terms of grammaticality, they are not better. And being in Ghana means you’ll be exposed to more Ghanaians than you encounter on social media.

Just as there are ethnic accents to English speaking in Nigeria, they have theirs. There is no saint nor winner in English speaking, just peculiarities.

<h3>Stretching words for emphasis</h3>

Pannnnnnnn, sannnnnnnnnnnn are some ways in which Ghanaians show emphasis. You could hear a sentence like “God bless you pannnnnnnnnnn” and find it difficult to control your laughter. It is difficult to find a Nigerian/Yoruba equivalent of such interjection, maybe something like “O pooooooo” but that still doesn’t fully capture the Ghana effect.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h3>The backside of Ghana ladies may have been overstated</h3>

A lot of rumours have flown on social media about Ghanaian girls and their heavy backside. Well, I hate to break it to you that they may not be commonplace as circulated by netizens.

<h3>My verdict on Ghana versus Naija jollof</h3>

The jollof war between Ghana and Nigeria has been on for decades and it will only continue to drag on. However, after crossing the border to go have a taste of the vaunted Ghana jollof, it is difficult to make a call.

With no sense of bias, Ghanaian restaurants put a lot of effort into preparing their jollof. It feels like they are conscious of the war, that any Nigerian could walk through their doors and taste their jollof just to prove a point.

So, in terms of intentionality, they do better than Nigerian food vendors but do they have the better jollof? Naahhh.

Exploring Ghana for the first time as a Nigerian

When you finally make the trip to the Gold Coast, these are some eight things you should expect.

8 things to expect as a Nigerian travelling to Ghana for first time

Earlier in April, when <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/3-countries-nigerians-can-visit-with-less-than-naira100000/ek3jc1m">Temi wrote about three African countries you can visit with less than ₦‎100k</a>, I was triggered. Less than ₦‎100k! Really? That’s a little below my salary, so I could afford it with proper planning and budgeting.

I ended up spending more than ₦100k, and I had to confront Temi that she misled me but then, I was grateful for the push, even if I didn’t say it to her face.

Going to a foreign country would require serious homework and I set out to do it. I’ll give you a breakdown of it so that you can have straightforward planning when you want to embark on yours.

<h3>The costs you should bear in mind</h3>

The first is the transport cost. The transport agency I followed to Accra charged ₦‎55k and you’ll need either your passport or any other government-issued ID card.

You should also have in mind the number of days you want to spend there. The number of days will determine your accommodation cost. I spent about two weeks though.

One hack you’ll find very useful if you’re travelling on a budget is that hotels are cheaper uptown. You can budget between ₦15-20k per night. You should also keep some ₦20k for intra-city transport. The three most popular ride-hailing apps are Yango, Bolt and Uber - arranged from the cheapest to the costliest.

Lastly on this, bear in mind the exchange rate: ₦1000 will get you 15 Ghana cedis - yes, 15 cedis. I was in similar shock when my hefty ₦50k could only get me 700 cedis plus. Don’t let Google's exchange rate fool you, please.

<ul><li>Transport (to and fro Nigeria) = ₦120k</li><li>Intra-city transport = ₦20k</li><li>Feeding = ₦10k per day&nbsp;</li></ul>

And don’t forget to arm yourself with a rich playlist and a solid power bank. A 20,000maH capacity power bank is enough for the trip.

<h3>Getting to Ghana</h3>

Maza maza, Mile 2, Lagos State is the easiest place to get a bus going to Ghana. There are a number of transport agencies there: ABC, GUO and Chisco are some that come to mind. They charge between ₦55-60k. They often move early in the morning or late at night.

I won’t disclose the one I patronised because I didn’t get optimal service from them and that has affected my willingness to give them free publicity. Another nugget of wisdom for you is don’t be tempted to go by a big luxurious 50-seater bus. The smaller, the faster and the faster, the better.

The journey takes between 12 to 15 hours, should there be no unnecessary drama on the way. From Maza Maza, Lagos, the road travel will take you through Badagry to Cotonou, Benin Republic; Lome, Togo then finally Accra, Ghana.

<h3>The journey’s side attractions</h3>

Passing through Cotonou and Lome is enough to catch glimpses of the socio-cultural differences between the places and Nigeria. Perhaps the first thing that will jump at you is there are dedicated lanes for motorcycles, just like the Lagos BRT lane.

There are dedicated lanes for motorcycles in Cotonou, Benin Republic

There’s also a stark difference between the quality of the road when coming from Lagos and when you enter Cotonou till you enter Ghana. Even if the roads are not so good further into the country, every traveller using the road will at least get the impression one country is intentional about its public image.

Probably because of the rainy season we are in, the impression that you get in Lomé is that it is a poorly planned city that is suffering from flooding and erosion. The roads are good, just like Cotonou’s but one thing a keen observer will notice is the number of beer parlours by the roadside.

These bars in Lomé (Togo) were a stone's throw away from one another

These bars in Lome, Togo were a stone's throw away from one another

Some had barely 500 metres between them. I dare not call Togolese people drunks but they definitely enjoy popping alcoholic bottles.

<h3>&nbsp;Language and currency conundrum</h3>

Quite interesting that two French-speaking countries separate Nigeria and Ghana and all the people we meet along the way can’t speak a letter of English. The situation may be fair in Cotonou if you are lucky to come across those who speak Yoruba, although their Yoruba sounded a bit funny, perhaps because of the underlying French accent. I should have taken those secondary school French Language lessons more seriously.

One of the bureau de change guys who helped changed naira to cedis

For the currency, if you are conversant with exchange rates, you’d have an idea of how battered Nigeria’s economy is. Both cephas and cedis are more valuable than naira.

The reality will properly dawn on you when you change money and you see what that money can(‘t) actually do. What may drive you crazy is if you try to mentally convert the cephas/cedis you spend to naira. You may even feel reluctant to spend the money because a food vendor will tell you that one scanty plate of rice is 20 cedis, and you just changed money from 15 cedis to a thousand naira.

You may not know when you scream that you can’t actually buy that rice for ₦500. But it is what it is. The earlier you stop the back-and-forth currency conversion, the better for your mental health.

Lest I forget, go along with all the cash you want to spend. The bureau de change guys you meet at the Togo and Ghana border crossings won’t accept transfer or an ATM card.

<h3>The atmosphere in Accra</h3>

On getting to Accra, the bright landscape and structures will definitely catch your attention. It suggests a well-planned, electricity-spoilt but expensive city. They say the traffic is mad but anyone who has experienced proper traffic in Lagos will see it as child’s play.

The last stop for your bus will be Circle. It is from there that you’d navigate to the hotel you have reserved for yourself.

Or you still want me to teach you how to navigate that? You’d have to pay at this point sha. Feel free to reach out to me on social media for consultation. I charge in cedis, not naira. Lol.

A Google search and online booking should help you. Areas like Lapaz, Gbawe, McCarthy Hill, Dansoman should give you nice and affordable lodges.

<h3>What to expect during your stay</h3>

This post is long enough, considering that you didn’t even pay for the premium info. <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/8-things-to-expect-as-a-nigerian-travelling-to-ghana-for-first-time/q74whqs">Read the follow-up article here where I discuss at length what you should expect during your adventure on the Gold Coast.</a>

You have come to the right place, sorry article, on how you can travel to Ghana and even do vacation there with not too much money. Punch in.

I travelled to Ghana on a budget, here’s how you can do it too

The CBN, in late 2022, had announced the redesign of the naira notes, specifically the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations, and a number of reasons for this change were given by the governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele.

Some of them, which <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/cbns-withdrawal-policy-and-the-doom-it-portends-for-fintechs-employment/956jyt3">this writer analysed</a>, include mopping up cash stored away by individuals, combatting terrorism and kidnapping, tackling inflation, suppressing vote buying and engendering a cashless economy.

However, the short time frame of the policy implementation and the paucity of new notes in circulation, among other factors, meant that the policy would eventually become pointless to the average Nigerian.

So, one does not need to be a genius to conclude that the naira redesign policy is one that has failed spectacularly, in a manner that will be studied by students of economy for case studies.

The anguish that Nigerians have faced has been telling with millions left stranded, unable to retrieve their hard-earned money as the vaunted cashless infrastructure was too weak to sustain the bombardment of online financial activities. Thousands of people have their money trapped somewhere in between point-of-sale machines, commercial banks and fintechs.

Nigerians queue at banks for new naira notes

Many, like this writer, have decided that it wasn’t worth queueing for long hours at banks over a few thousand naira where the physical toll it would take on one will cost far more.

The Supreme Court judges are also human beings, more than one could say of the authorities behind the naira redesign policy, and they condemned the conception of the policy and its execution.

Justice Akomaye Agim who delivered the judgement stated that it was unconstitutional the way President Buhari wielded powers after failing to consult the Federal Executive Council, the National Economic Council and the Governors’ Forum while denying Nigerian citizens of their fundamental human rights in numerous ways.

The dust has finally settled on the disastrous policy but some entities managed to benefit from the chaos. Here are the winners and losers of the naira redesign policy.

Fintechs: If there was a time commercial banks could have shown Nigerians that they could give fintech companies a run for their money, it was the cash crisis period when physical banking made a mockery of civil wars. Instead, the gulf further widened as fintechs provided almost seamless internet banking.&nbsp;At least two mobile money agencies are smiling at their backend because of the millions of new subscribers they have acquired.

Filling stations: Fuel sellers arguably deal with more cash than any other people in the country and they milked the cash crisis opportunity very well as they became the go-to place for cash supply. Some were even accused of charging exorbitantly to give out money to stranded citizens.

Commercial banks: It was distressing to see bank branches set on fire and their properties destroyed as they became the scapegoat of CBN’s policy and bore the full brunt. This is not to mention the daily throng of the crowd they fend back daily, the curses, the drama and the violent pressure they endure.

Nigerian commercial banks bear the brunt of the cash crisis

While Emefiele and his subordinates move about in fancy cars and dish out press statements at will, commercial bank workers are forced to ‘dress down’ and be on alert against any mob action.

Godwin Emefiele - Only a few other people could rival Godwin Emefiele in terms of (un)popularity since the turn of the year.&nbsp;The way his name has been bastardised, from Elemiewere, Emere to Emefiole, speaks volumes of the vituperations that have been hurled at the CBN governor. He may not care but the Delta indigene will go down as the most infamous governor of the apex bank in recent history.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ofemele Efeleme Efemielele Elemiewele Elemiemere.....&mdash; Naija (@Naija_PR) <a href="https://twitter.com/Naija_PR/status/1636022130130157570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

</div>

&nbsp;PoS operators: <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/cbns-withdrawal-policy-and-the-doom-it-portends-for-fintechs-employment/956jyt3">As this writer predicted</a>, the naira redesign policy and the consequent cash crunch effectively ended business for PoS operators. The scarcity of cash means that there is nothing to do business with. Only a few are able to get cash and what they get is nowhere near what they used to enjoy. Un(der)employed Nigerian youths who use mobile money agencies as a stopgap are now back on the streets looking for another means of livelihood.&nbsp;

**The views expressed in this article are that of the author and not of the organisation Business Insider Africa

The Central Bank of Nigeria has overturned its decision to ban the old naira notes after months of cash crisis in the country and the subsequent intervention of the Supreme Court but not without a lasting impact on citizens.

Winners and losers of Nigeria’s currency redesign policy [Editor’s Opinion]

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Kola Muhammed

Articles written by the author

8 things to expect as a Nigerian travelling to Ghana for first time

I travelled to Ghana on a budget, here’s how you can do it too

Winners and losers of Nigeria’s currency redesign policy [Editor’s Opinion]