Extremists Get Closer

The military acts on orders given by politicians who formulate defence policies.

These policies may be developed with inputs from the military, whose expert advice may or may not be adopted by the politicians who appoint military officers to command positions.

The West African sub region has never been on such tenterhooks as it is today, and defence and security experts are under no illusion about this.

Despite years of military campaigns, extremists have not been subdued, notwithstanding the overwhelming firepower deployed against them, including by the sub region’s strongest military, Nigeria.

In Mali and Burkina Faso, they remain active and are nowhere near abandoning their objective of destabilising and eventually toppling the governments of the countries in which they operate.

When soldiers seized power in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, they created the impression that they had the wherewithal to eliminate the Al Qaeda and JNIM-linked extremists. So far, that has not been the case.

In Mali, just a four-day drive from Accra, JNIM-linked extremists have not been stopped by the Russian African Corps, which is operating there at the behest of the junta. Instead, reports suggest that the Russian mercenaries and the extremists have reached an understanding under which the former ceded control of a swathe of Malian territory to the latter. The extremists had earlier killed Mali’s Defence Minister.

Given the foregoing, it is important that we take seriously the warning by our Chief of Defence Staff about the southward movement of extremists from their bases in Mali and Burkina Faso.

When the head of our Armed Forces issues such a portentous warning, it should serve as a wake-up call for all Ghanaians to remain alert to the security threats confronting the sub region, particularly our part of it.

The politicians, to whom the military is answerable, must also play their part diligently and sincerely by ensuring that the Armed Forces are adequately equipped and that professional military advice is given the attention it deserves in matters concerning the protection of the country’s territorial integrity.

Preparing for and countering the ominous southward movement of extremists is not the responsibility of the military alone. It also requires the active participation of citizens, especially those living along the country’s borders.

Such citizens should be regularly sensitised on the importance of remaining vigilant and reporting any unusual movement of people from neighbouring countries where extremist groups are active.

Security agencies operating along the nation’s borders must also earn the trust of these communities, from whom invaluable intelligence can be gathered and properly analysed.

In Ghana, security issues have been taken for granted for far too long. We have repeatedly raised concerns about the ease with which nationals of neighbouring countries, particularly Niger, enter Ghana, establish themselves and quickly become assimilated into local communities.

While we know little about the security backgrounds of these individuals, the fact that many come from a country severely affected by violent extremism is sufficient to warrant concern and heightened vigilance.

It would be relatively easy for extremists to infiltrate Ghana because, in addition to our well-known hospitality towards foreigners from neighbouring countries, many of these migrants already have relatives and acquaintances here, enabling them to blend seamlessly into local communities.

As we have pointed out in previous commentaries, a significant number of okada riders in Accra are Nigerien nationals whose backgrounds are unknown to us. We do not seek to encourage xenophobia; far from it. However, our national security is paramount and must be protected by all through a security-conscious approach to migration management.

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