Vigilance At All Levels Will Keep Terrorists At Bay

Author's note: This piece was written on 27/9/2013. It is being posted today, because I was unable to do so on the day. Please read on:


It was  refreshing listening to the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) youthful firebrand, Mr. Anthony Abayeefa Karbo,  a few days ago.


He spoke   in such  responsible fashion on Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show,  about how important and urgent it was,   for the security agencies in Ghana to be more vigilant - in light of Al-Shabaab's  abominable inhumanity: seen during its appalling and senseless  killing-spree  at Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall on 21st September, 2013.


When a young politician,  once alleged to be planning  to destabalise Ghana, by recruiting ex-combatants in the civil wars in Liberia and the Ivory Coast, to cause mayhem across Ghana in pursuit of a secret political agenda, speaks so responsibly and shows such  unalloyed patriotism  -  instead of being parochial in his thinking:  as has usually been the case in the past -  it is definitely a sign that  there is  heightened awareness amongst Ghanaians,   of the potential  danger posed to their nation by  terrorists.


One hopes that the concerns expressed by Mr. Anthony Abaryeefa Karbo,  on Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show, about the capacity of Ghana's security agencies to foil terrorist attacks before they are launched, will be taken up by the powers that be in Ghana.


Perhaps the positive example of Mr. Anthony  Karbo, is also an indication that it  is now slowly sinking into  the minds of many in Ghana's political class that it is indeed but a small step from  pursuing  a career as a  hired-thug and violence-prone foot-soldier causing mayhem for political parties in Ghana, to becoming a terrorist in the employ of  Al-Qaeda affiliates on African soil, planting   bombs in vulnerable nations across the continent.


That our homeland Ghana  is as vulnerable to terrorists  as has been the case for  Kenya and Uganda -  both of which have fallen victim to terrorist attacks by  Al-Shabaab - is no longer doubted by many Ghanaians. They have the terrible examples in northern Nigeria and northern Mali to guide them.


Our secret services ought to abandon their propensity for focusing almost exclusively on political  opponents of governments of the day, and instead take  steps  to ensure  that they  are in a position to  foil potential attacks on Ghanaian soil by terrorists.


One of the ways that that can be done, is  through closer  collaboration  between Ghana's secret services,  and those of the  nations at the forefront of  the global  fight against terrorism.


Above all, by being constantly vigilant at the individual level, ordinary Ghanaians can help make it harder for terrorists to harm their nation and its people - and by so doing enable theirs to continue  remaining a free and open   society.


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