Accra is a disappointment. I expected a semi-cosmopolitan city like Abidjan, but little is here beyond the basics of paved main streets, proper sanitation, water and working streetlights. Believe me, I am not making light of the significance in having these basics, which do not exist in many West African towns and villages.

Like most of this part of the world, public transport is minimal – buses and vans overflowing with people, bags, produce and sometimes an animal or two secured on the top. Often men hang out the back door creating another seat. Battered, orange taxis putter through the streets lined with beggars and men – mostly school age, but not in school – selling chocolate, posters, tissues, electronics and fried plantains.