Accra, April 26, GNA- Brigadier-General Francis Agyemfra (rtd), has observed that for the purpose of Regional integration and cooperation of the West African sub-region, conscious efforts must be made to bridge the gap of language barrier amongst member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Referring to the Anglophone and Francophone groups within the ECOWAS community, he said there was the need for a common definition to strengthen the sense of belonging and unity of member states.
Addressing Journalists from the West-African sub-region, on the theme: "the role of ECOMOG in West African security strategies and the media's role in contributing to peace in the sub-region," the security expert said the language barrier posed a threat to the integration of the ECOWAS community.
Brigadier Agyemfra therefore, called for a policy among member states of the ECOWAS to incorporate English and French into their educational system so that both groups could master the other language to address the issue.
He said, "serious businesses like regional integration and the use of interpreters at critical meetings did not only break free flow of communication but also wasted a lot of time."
He said ECOMOG, a well-security mechanism in the management of conflicts in the sub-region, was an initiative of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President, for Africa to have a common front to defend the African territorial integrity.
According to him, despite the failure of ECOMOG in controlling the civil war in Liberia, it made an impact on the Sierra-Leone and Guinea wars before the intervention of the international community, therefore, a common front in any sphere of regional integration was imperative for the unity of Africa.
Brigadier Agyemfra, a former Ambassador to Liberia, said the Liberia war was one of the bloodiest and horrible conflicts in the region and that journalists in the sub-region must never allow their inclinations to subvert the peace that had returned to the area and Africa as a whole.
He told the journalists that for them to contribute effectively to the peace building process in the sub-region, they must familiarize themselves with the objectives of ECOWAS to enable them to set the standard for governments to provide transparent and honest leadership in the area.
The security expert, said it was a known fact that the underlining issues in all the conflicts in Africa was corruption and bad governance and called on governments to promote good governance in the interest of the people.
He expressed the hope that member states of ECOWAS would realize the flaws of ECOMOG, the security mechanism, in the performance of managing conflicts in the sub-region and endeavour to correct the anomaly.
