By Bajin D. Pobia
Wa, July 08, GNA – Mr Salifu Kanton, the Executive Director of Community Development Alliance (CDA) has reminded the youth about the insecurity situations in Ghana’s neighbouring countries, which remained a potential threat to Ghana’s peace.
He has therefore asked them to be vigilant and report all suspicious characters to the security agencies and opinion leaders in the communities.
Mr Kanton gave the reminder when he spoke during an agenda for youth groups engagement on “preventing conflicts and violent extremism in Ghana” held in Wa.
The Wa Municipal Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) organised the forum with funds from the European Union for 50 youth to educate them on conflicts and violent extremism issues to help sustain peace in the country.
Mr Kanton urged the youth to remain nationalistic and patriotic and stand firm against monetary and other material considerations, which could be used to play on their sensitivity and lure them to derail the peace of the country.
He said it was important for the youth to avoid marginalisation, stereotyping and undermining of tribes and embrace diversity and to see themselves with one common destiny to propel the growth and development of the country.
He appealed to them to be wary of issues of religion, ethnicity, and vigilantism because those had the potential of disrupting the prevailing peace.
“Tribalism and regionalisation are also becoming one of the menaces in the system, which could damage our communal cohesion and peaceful co-existence.
The CDA Executive Director said extreme partisan politics as well as political radicalisation had divided Ghanaians and constantly made the people to see themselves as enemies.
This development, he noted, must be a worry for all because it served as a fertile ground or conduit for terrorists to take advantage of to cause harm to the peace.
He appealed to people in the region to accept and respect each other’s religions and give more attention to issues on gender diversity to enhance sustainable peace.
He said it was unfortunate that in recent times, peace had eluded several countries and the youth who are vibrant were being engaged in violent situations.
ASP Alhaji Bawah Abdul Jalil, the Wa Municipal Police Commander, who spoke on “Preventing Violent Extremism in Ghana,” appealed to community members to form Community Watchdog Committees to complement the efforts of the Police to prevent violent extremism.
He urged community members to report suspicious characters to lawful agencies or community leaders, saying it was the responsibility of all to ensure that sustainable peace was secured for the country for development.
Mr Frederick Bondong, the Wa Municipal Director of the NCCE said the Commission organised the forum to raise awareness among the youth groups in the municipality so that collectively they could tackle the menaces of violent extremism and terrorism.
He appealed to young people not to follow peoples’ theories, principles, and doctrine blindly because such people had hidden motives to disturb the peace for their selfish gains.
He said no matter how grievous their circumstances, problems and challenges might be, they should always exercise restraint and resort to dialogue to find amicable solutions to protect peace for development.
GNA