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Fortitude of a Mother: Rukaya Mohammed Lamptey opens up on life as a commercial driver
It was 3pm one Thursday afternoon, and Rukaya Mohammed Lamptey had just returned from a trip to Ablekuma. She is engaged in a chit-chat with some male drivers as she waits for her turn to pick another set of passengers.
This hardworking lady became a commercial driver four years ago having spent some time under ‘apprenticeship’ as a driver’s mate. She does not have her own vehicle but takes over from her ‘Master’ whenever duty calls.
Although this has not been her career ambition, the mother of two says she has come to terms with the realities of life and is determined to go all length to cater for her family through the right path.
On the occasion of Mothers’ Day, the 27-year-old opened up on how she has been coping with the job and why she does not want her children to suffer similar fate.
Background
Rukaya speaks good English but could not complete basic education due to lack of financial support. She, therefore, turned to petty trading to make ends meet and had her first child at age 17.
“My mother did her best to take care of us but I dropped out of school in ‘Form One’ and started working. I started trading to support myself until I met a young man who became the father of my first son,” she told The Spectator.
Being the fourth of seven siblings, she took up other menial jobs including becoming a driver’s mate (bus conductor) but was not motivated to learn driving as she feared the many collisions some drivers were involved in.
After the first child, she met another young man who started teaching her how to drive but the lessons, she said, led to “dating and marriage.”
The union lasted eight years and they had to go their separate ways following a divorce eight months ago.
Driving
Rukaya said when times were getting tougher, she approached an experienced driver (Mr Smart Nkansah aka Nsawam) at the Odawna Bus terminal to help her perfect her driving skills so she could take up driving as a permanent occupation.
The kind driver, she said, agreed to take her through structured lessons until she was confident enough to start transporting passengers to their destinations.
“I was able to learn within four to five months and drive on my own without instruction. My new master has been a father figure who sometimes hands over the vehicle to me to drive when he is off duty,” she said, expressing appreciation for the support she had received over the years.
Reactions
On her daily trip from Circle to Ablekuma, she gets mixed reactions from commuters who board her vehicle. While some are happy to see a lady behind the steering wheel, other passengers, she said, doubted her ability to take them to their destination safely.
“Those who have ever boarded my vehicle defend me when some first-timers pass derogatory comments about me.
“I used to feel offended and would sometimes think of quitting but my master tells me not to take things to heart if I, indeed, want to achieve something for myself.
“It takes determination and a brave heart to be on this job. A lot of people now know my car so they wait for me to pick them at the terminal when I am on duty,” she said.
In spite of the risk and the ‘friendly contest’ on the road with male drivers, the lively and industrious woman says she is impressed with the progress made and feels proud as a professional driver.
Challenges
Talking about earnings, she stated that income from the road trips remained inadequate for her and the children’s upkeep.
She said she had expended her personal savings on her children after the divorce, and sometimes spent the night in the vehicle.
“My master has given me a place but I am yet to put finishing touches to the place before I can move in.
“Every week, I spend quite significant amount on the upkeep of my mother and children. If I had my own car, things would have been a bit better,” she explained.
She plans to acquire her own commercial vehicle in the shortest possible time in addition to establishing a viable transport company in future, if she gets the needed support from people.
Advice
Not feeling dejected, Rukaya says she has learnt a lot of lessons and would want to further her education to the highest level, if she gets the chance.
She has advised young girls to be wary of the antics of some men and work hard, be independent and remain focused on their ambitions in life.
Good music and the love for her children, she says, have been her source of inspiration and she would continue to push hard until she sees light at the end of the tunnel.
By Ernest Nutsugah
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
