Letter to men and women of the security fraternity

It is important that we remain resolute and conscious of our responsibilities toward the people of our dear country whose security you have been charged to protect. We must endeavour not to forget that a huge responsibility had been thrust on your shoulders in the fight against this deadly pandemic-Covid19.

You are to safeguard and protect the territorial integrity of the nation and its citizens and not to use your position to antagonize the very people whose sacrifices have made you who you are today. Fellow comrades, remember, you owe a duty to the nation toward ensuring peace, stability and development in these critical times.

We should be guided by the fact that we live in a constitutional democracy which has taken the blood and sacrifices of several generations of Ghanaian patriots to establish.

The solidarity and professionalism of the security sector of our dear country has become the standard-bearer and beacon for the African continent, receiving worldwide acclaim for its progress. Our first and paramount duty is to uphold the teachings of the constitution and the executive instrument directives, that way we safeguard the blessings of liberty and the prospects of orderly government for our future generations in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

As we gallantly enforce the President's directives, we must not lose sight of the numerous intrastate and cross-border armed conflicts employing several unconventional and asymmetric means of warfare. The traditional challenges to security on the continent, such as chieftaincy conflicts, armed robberies, land disputes, religious intolerance, political rivalries and ethnic conflicts.

These traditional security challenges are also being compounded by contemporary threats like drug and human trafficking, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, cybercrime and cyber recruitment by violent extremists groups. Threats from all these nonstate actors pose a great challenge and calls for new approach to counter the challenges presented by these threats. I wish you well in your resolve to stand and defend our nation even at the peril of your lives.

Adu-Twum Sadiq Peace&Security Analyst, Media Practitioner, Research Fellow-ISSAPR.