Ghana Must Alleviate Extreme Poverty To keep Terrorist Organisations At Bay

It was recently reported  in sections of the Ghanaian media that gunmen had attacked a bullion van in the north of the country, and killed two policemen and two bank employees in cold blood. They made away with the guns of the policemen - who were protecting the cash in the bullion van, as well as the two bank employees accompanying it. Apparently, the gunmen did not touch any of the cash the van was carrying.

Clearly, their main motive must have been to lay their hands on the guns and ammunition carried by the two policemen. It is a worrying development. The brutal murder of police officers and soldiers in order to acquire arms, has been a tactic frequently used by Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram  has also been recruiting gangs of young men in neighbouring Niger - whom it pays to carry out acts of terrorism on Nigerian soil.

Over the years, countless young men from Niger have travelled to find work and economic  opportunities in Ghana. We cannot rule out the fact that some of those who have come to Ghana in search of work in the recent past,  might have worked for Boko Haram on occasion. They must not be allowed to operate freely on Ghanaian soil robbing and killing people with impunity.

 It is important that members of all the  security agencies in Ghana are made aware of the threat that terrorist organisations operating in the west African sub-region pose to the stability of Ghana. In an era of terrorism, taking a bribe at the borders of Ghana in order to turn a blind eye to the activities of foreigners entering our country,  is tantamount to aiding terrorists to slip into Ghanaiank'm territory to harm our nation and its people.

 Ghana's security agencies  must be sufficiently resourced to strengthen their intelligence-gathering capabilities. We must not allow terrorist organisations to take root anywhere in Ghana.

We have the terrible  example of the harm now being caused to Nigeria and its citizens by Boko Haram to remind us of the importance of protecting our nation and its people from terrorist organisations operating in the west African sub-region. Boko Haram has taken root in northern Nigeria precisely because of the widespread  poverty in that part of the country.

One hopes our leaders will be proactive in that regard. Something drastic needs to be done to alleviate extreme poverty in the north and in the slums of  urban Ghana - so that they do not become recruiting grounds for terrorist organisations targetting our country. Ghana needs to alleviate extreme poverty if it is to keep terrorist organisations at bay. A word to the wise...