Some call it "morringa snuff" or "asra". For others, it is known as, "green leaves" or "keep me awake and strong".
"Gogbalo" is a mixture of unnamed leaves, powdered and packaged in a small whitish container and believed to have curative ability.
Known as "gogbalo the general" among its lovers, the powdered substance intoxicates and makes one drowsy when sniffed.
This substance is gradually replacing alcoholic beverages at various lorry stations across the country.
It has become a very important companion for commercial drivers who clutch it wherever they go.
Some findings - not scientific - indicate that a large number of commercial drivers in the country always stick "gogbalo" in their pockets while travelling and inhale the substance occasionally while driving, normally on the blind side of passengers.
Some drivers who give some attention to their conscience inhale the substance before starting their journeys and do not do it while driving but forget that 'the value is the same'.
A few of the drivers also stop on the way intermittently under the guise of wanting to attend to nature's call and inhale the substance.
Owuomposoro was one of those drivers addicted to "gogbalo" and always kept it deep inside his pocket while driving.
Occasionally when very excited, he placed it on the dashboard but with his eyes fixed on it.
A week before his death in a fatal road crash on the Ho-Aflao Highway one Friday morning, Owuomposoro came home earlier than usual and narrated how two of his colleague drivers abused "gogbalo" and were involved in fatal road crashes in which they died instantly.
It was on account of that story that Maame Esi, his wife, insisted he dropped the "gogbalo" before leaving for work that Friday dawn.
As the argument and the struggle raged on, Owuomposoro snatched the "gogbalo" from Maame Esi, pushed Eric and I aside and off he went into his vehicle.
He quickly jumped behind the steer of his Nissan Urvan, sniffed the substance, murmured a few words and sped off.
I followed Owuomposoro to the main lorry station in a bid to appeal to his colleagues and perhaps the station master to prevail on him to drop “gogbalo†but rather came face-to-face with the reality - almost all drivers at the station at that time, about 0415 hours had "gogbalo" in their pockets.
Some drivers' mates were also seen clutching the whitish container while wooing passengers to board their vehicles.
I am told some police officers also allegedly use "gogbalo", so are unable to arrest such drivers. Instead, they share the substance with any driver found possessing the container.
At the station, I engaged Kwame Asante on the use of "gogbalo" and he said: "It keeps our eyes open on the road, you go be awake and strong, you no go sleep."
At about 0700 hours, while listening to the World news in my room, loud screams echoed outside. I put off the radio and came out only to be told Owuomposoro was dead. How? He died instantly with one other person when his vehicle veered off the road into a ditch. He had serious head injuries with the other person's intestines gushing out. I was told the story of his death in bits, as almost everybody in the house was down in tears.
Owuomposoro fell a victim to "gogbalo" and worse of all, he did not die alone; he pulled an innocent passenger along with him with several others surviving with various degrees of injuries.
Similar stories abound across the whole country, and no wonder about 2,330 people died through 13,572 recorded road crashes in 2011.
Taxi drivers and drivers plying shorter distances to city peripherals are perhaps one of the promoters of "gogbalo."
These drivers do not only use the substance but supply it to other drivers at a cost.
No wonder the increasing number of vehicles knocking down pedestrians in towns and rural areas.
For instance, in the year 2012, a total of 169 pedestrians were knocked down by vehicles in the Volta Region, according to Mr Sebastian Akyeampong, Volta Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC).
It is also worth knowing that an average of about 43 per cent of road crash fatalities recorded in the country involved pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
This situation prompted the Volta Regional Office of the NRSC to provide crossing aids at zebra crossing points for pupils and the public to reduce the number of people knocked down by vehicles in the Regional capital.
This gives credence to the common saying that, germs do not kill Africans, only cars do.
Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, a Medical Practitioner in Ho recounted how he fired one of his drivers who was always found drowsy and sleeping on the steer due to the use of “gogbalo†and described the substance as dangerous.
He said the practice is common and that the substance in the white container could not be morringa as some drivers claimed, but leaves he suspects to be Indian Hemp and other elements, which make one drowsy.
Dr. Letsa said any substance that makes a person drowsy could affect the sense of judgement and cause fatigue, a situation which could lead to road crashes.
This means that the intake of "gogbalo" can affect the reaction time of drivers to prevent road crashes and save lives.
Without a shred of doubt, one can safely declare that it is the intake of such substances that make drivers take risks they should not take and misinterpret road signs.
These days, it is common to see drivers ignore the basic rules of road safety, throw caution to the wind and get carried away on high speed. All this could be the effect of "gogbalo".
Mr Edward Fiattor, First Trustee of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) said his outfit had received reports of drivers using "gogbalo" and was working on the report.
The Food and Drugs Board and Standards Authority must come in and conduct tests on "gogbalo" and probably ban its usage in the country.
The police as a major stakeholder in ensuring road safety must demonstrate greater commitment to the fight against road crashes and enforce road traffic regulations to the latter to protect all road users, especially the vulnerable ones.They simply must ensure that drivers divorce their marriage to "gogbalo" now to reduce the spate of road crashes.
The NRSC must also not relent in its effort to reduce road crashes but judiciously implement action plans in the Global Plan for the Decade 2011-2012, using its well-developed national strategies to make progress through the decade, because Ghana is the beacon of hope for Africa.
Alcoholism or what was referred to as substance abuse had been the constant attributing factor for road crashes in past decades and is being countered rather unsuccessfully with the introduction of breathalyzer. But with this 'invention,' (gogbalo) one wonders which measuring rod relevant agencies will use to detect its intake. That, should be the headache of all stakeholders.