Peace Council sensitizes residents of Nakolo on violent extremism

The Upper East Regional Peace Council has engaged residents of Nakolo, a community in the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, on violent extremism.

The project, which forms part of the Atlantic Project aimed at preventing and responding to violent extremism, had over 200 participants in attendance.

The theme of the project is building trust between security agencies and border communities through community forums. It was sponsored by the governments of Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Australia through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Addressing the gathering, the Head of Operations and Intelligence at the Paga sector command of the Ghana Immigration Service, Deputy Superintendent of Immigration (DSI), Robert Ubindam, pointed out that there was a need for them to build trust with the community so that they can collaborate with the security services and give information on happenings that were unusual in their communities.

He noted that Nakolo is a border community with Burkina Faso, adding that Burkina Faso has been flagged many times for jihadism and extremist activities.

DSI Robert Ubindam, noted that it was on the heels of this that they deemed it expedient to create awareness within the community so that they would be cautious.

"It is important that we create awareness among the community members so that they can identify such elements and volunteer information to the security agencies," he said.

DSI Ubindam emphasized that Nakolo is a community that is of interest to the Immigration Service.

"This is an unapproved route. We check the kind of items they carry and the documents they have. Some people may try to use it to enter Ghana while evading controls at the main border, so this is a very essential engagement we had with the community, he said.

He expressed optimism that they would achieve their goal, owing to the active participation of the participants.

"The feedback has been good because they are asking very relevant questions, they are making very relevant contributions, and at the end of the day, there will be a concerted effort to prevent, preempt, protect, and respond to violent extremism and terrorism," he added.

For his part, the Regional Programmes Officer, National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Victor Abo-Ame Akanbonga, indicated that their activities in the region are very crucial to the peace and security of the country.

He observed that the region is plagued with a series of acts of communal violence, religious conflict, and even a threat of jihadi activities from Burkina Faso.

Mr. Akanbonga stated that for the past two weeks, they have partnered with the National Peace Council to roll out programs on violent extremism and terrorism in border communities in the region to educate them.

He stated that the essence of the training is to sensitize border communities about illegal proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

The Regional Programmes Officer added that this was occasioned by the interrupted and intermittent cases in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

"We have issues where armouries in neighboring countries are broken and people cease that opportunity to proliferate small arms into the country. So what we are doing is educating border residents. When they see any strange character coming in or if they see any illegal weapons moving inside the country, they should draw our attention," he added.

The assistant analyst at the office of the Narcotics Control Commission, Mr. Seth L. Okang, stated that extremists usually take advantage of youth who engage in drug abuse.

He also stated that they usually come in with juicy offers that never come to light and therefore advised them to stay away.

"They will come with convincing and compelling words, but at the end of the day, you will not get them, and you will end up wasting your time and becoming worse than you were. It is better to have your peace to pursue what you want to pursue than to allow promises that you will never get from the extremists. It is better for them to stay away from drugs because, at the end, nobody can say that he has smoked marijuana and has been able to do something worth emulating," he said.

Also, the Principal Programmes Manager of the Upper East Regional Peace Council, Mr. David Angaamba, called on residents to cooperate with the security services to fight violent extremism and avoid hate speech.

He noted that violent extremists do not only aim at attacking but also recruiting the youth into their groups.

Mr. Angaamba admonished all to embrace the peace they have over any fancy promise that would lead them to unbearable suffering.

"It is better to be at peace in poverty than to fall for fancy promises that would lead to unbearable suffering," he said.