Students of the University of Ghana (UG) and the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) have called for urgent intervention from government and school authorities over malfunctioning streetlights and traffic lights along the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Graduate School stretch to the PRESEC junction.
According to the students, the road is plunged into darkness after 10:00 PM daily due to broken streetlights and faulty traffic signals, creating unsafe conditions for pedestrians and motorists.
The students say the persistent darkness has led to increased cases of robberies, bag-snatching, and physical assaults targeting students returning to their hostels after lectures and late-night academic activities.
Speaking to Univers News, some students described the situation as frightening, particularly at the Legon and UPSA intersection where they struggle to cross the road because traffic lights reportedly stop functioning properly at night.
“I’m not happy with it because I often leave campus in the evening, and crossing the road at the Legon and UPSA intersection is very difficult. It puts fear in me whenever I’m crossing the road. Anytime I want to cross, I don’t know whether it’s my turn or the drivers’ turn because the traffic lights do not function well after 10 pm and the streetlights also do not usually turn on,” a student said.
Another student, who resides at Pent Hostel, explained that the situation becomes worse on weekends when some streetlights reportedly fail completely.
“Whenever I’m crossing, the traffic light doesn’t work after 10 pm and as for the streetlights, sometimes they do not work at all especially on weekends. Authorities need to get here as soon as possible to direct traffic or fix the danger this issue poses because this is too much for we the students,” the student added.
Students also raised concerns about the activities of motorbike riders along the dark stretch, warning that poor visibility exposes pedestrians to accidents and attacks.
“When students walk there at night, they fear for their safety because on that same stretch in the night is where bikers use. Sometimes if you are not careful, a biker can hit you. Someone can snatch your bag or harm you,” another student stated.
Some students are now appealing to the Students’ Representative Councils and university authorities to collaborate in restoring the streetlights to improve security around the area.
“I’m praying that the SRC will find a way to work with the school in order to put up streetlights that will ensure the safety of students so that we can see the road and what is around us at that time,” a student appealed.
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Story by Abraham Aboagye | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by Erica Odeenyin Odoom
