Akufo-Addo Meets Security Officers Over Extremism In West Africa

President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday met with security officers in the Ashanti region over recent terrorist attacks in almost all West African Countries.

The meeting was held at the Headquarters of the Central Command- the IDRIS Barracks.

Addressing the officers, the President said Ghana cannot relent on its security because such attacks haven’t yet been recorded.

“We have to prepare ourselves to expect that one moment or the other, we will be victims of this. That is why it is important that we arm ourselves to be able to confront it”, Nana Akufo-Addo told the Security Officers.

In May this year, the West Africa Centre For Counter-Extremism (WACCE) reported that “Ghana has been so close to terrorism” due to her proximity, ethnic and chieftaincy conflicts, land disputes, and grievances of marginalised groups (Fulbe).

President Akufo-Addo said this can be overcome by close collaboration between security agencies and the citizens.

“The close collaboration between the security agencies. I know each one of you has your own particular core mandate but to be able to decide that particular mandate effectively, it is important for you to collaborate with your sister services for maximum effectiveness. That is one critical aspect of the weapons that we have at our disposal.

“…Correlation with your civilian counterparts in the various communities in which you find yourself. Security cannot be just your concern. It has to be the concern of the communities in which you are working. If your outreach in those communities is done in a sincere and cordial manner, you will get the response that you require.

“People who come with negative purposes and hide in the community; it’s only with the assistance of the communities you can ferry them out. So I plead with you, the relations between you and the various communities in which you are operating is also absolutely critical to the success of our fight against terrorism.”

He also cited the contribution of the Central government toward the security agencies as another means of equipping against terrorism.

According to him, the government’s contribution in terms of logistics has been limited due to financial constraints however, he said it is adequate.

“Third is the contribution of the central government to give you the well withal to do what you have to do your work. Since I came into office, five and a half nearly six years ago, considerable resources have been devoted by my government to empowering all the various security apparatus in the country.

“You are aware of it. In terms of material, and logistics. Because without the materials and logistics, it will be difficult for you to carry out your work. There is more that we would have done but we are not as wealthy as we have to be. So within the limit of what resources are available to us, we have come a long way to empower you to make sure that you are in the position to carry out your functions effectively.”

He also expressed confidence that the review of conditions of service of personnel will end with a positive result- another means the government is seeking to encourage the pressonnel.

“Talking about the contribution of the Central government to your work is also your conditions of service and welfare. Recently, between the Ministry of Defence and Finance Minister, you too have been given your COLA. Apart from that, there is an ongoing serious review about your salaries and conditions of work that will come to an end very very soon.”

Encouraging the personnel to continue with the good work for orderly development in the country, the Commander-in-Chief of Ghana’s Armed Forces assured citizens that the security apparatus aren’t sleeping on the job.

“The Ghanaian people should be reassured that here in the second most populous region in our country, we have top-rate officials in charge of our security apparatus who are working in a very conscientious manner to make sure that people like me who don’t wear uniforms can go to bed and wake up in the morning still safe.”

The Ministry of National security has described the subregion among which Ghana is a part as a “hotbed for terrorism”.

“Terrorists want access to the sea. The nature of the various attacks we’ve had in the sub-region indicates that wherever they go, there are some forms of mineral or natural resources, particularly, gold. So the question therefore is, if they attack towns in Burkina Faso that have gold deposits, clearly, Ghana would be an interest. This has been the pinnacle of the southward drift of the terrorists. We are clearly therefore a target”, said former Deputy Minister for National Security Coordinator, Edward Kweku Asomani during a press conference in May.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini