Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - Colonel Bataabanah Tim, Director, Counter Terrorism and Fusion Centre, Ministry of National Security, says in fighting violent extremism, there is need for an all-encompassing approach including strategic leadership and the collaborative efforts by non-state actors.
He said to achieve meaningful results, strategic leadership should be seen to be leading the charge and showing some commitment to fighting violent extremism and terrorism in the country.
Colonel Bataabanah, speaking during a panel discussion at the third NORPREVSEC National Dialogue on the theme: “Violent Extremism and Political Instability in West Africa: Implication for Africa” said, a whole-of-society approach with active stakeholder engagement was required to nib the phenomenon in the bud.
The dialogue, held under the “Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (NorPrevSec) project, was being implemented by National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with funding from the European Union (EU).
He said: “We are conscious of the fact that we used to have a lot of buffer zones when Libya was lost, and terrorist started descending to Mali. We also knew that we had so much between us in terms of land space between us and the terrorist.”
The reality, he noted, was that, over the years, the buffer zone that cushioned the country had effectively been eroded and no longer existed.
Colonel Bataabanah said the happenings, in recent times, in neighbouring Burkina Faso, and the cascading effects in northern Togo, Benin and northern Nigeria were evident, adding that the entirety of the Sahelian countries had all become suddenly reactive.
In dealing with extremism and terrorism, he said traditional leaders along the border areas had critical roles to play just as the roles of faith-based institutions were a critical part of the process in winning the fight.
He said trust was lost on the continent and the West African citizen had a vitiated trust for state officials with the causes dating back from the colonial era to recent days.
Colonel Bataabanah underscored the need for citizens of West African States to make conscious efforts to trust leadership and build a cohesive society to repel negativity through strategic investments to build strong resistance from radicalism.
Therefore, he said smart strategies were needed to imbibe the role of non-state actors including Civil Society Organisations in fighting terrorism and not the overreliance on only state-led initiatives or approaches.
A combination of those and well-fashioned strategies, he said, were needed, including appreciation and respect for all the actors in the joint fight.
The Director said when such multifaced approaches were adopted, the country would be secured and insulated against extremist activities and terrorism even if the sub-region appeared to be overwhelmed by such extremist activities.
Professor Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research (FAAR), KAIPC, said there seemed to be a conflation of violence and extremism, and an identification of the processes through which persons were radicalised and became extremists, was a first step in dealing with the phenomenon.
Ms Josephine Nkrumah, Chairperson, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) said the stability of the country would largely be a mirage if active and proactive steps were not taken to counter violent extremism.
She said the commission would continue to raise awareness regarding the prevention of violent extremism, radicalism, and the role of all stakeholders in the quest of securing the country’s peace, national cohesion and stability to enhance and synergise collaboration.
The Chairperson called on traditional leaders, faith-based groups, Imams and the Clergy to play a pivotal role in that endeavour and said the youth were key to the success of the concerted efforts being sought in promoting peace.
GNA