Raising the security level above normal in the country is neither an exaggeration nor an attempt to cause an unfounded fear and panic.
There is genuine cause for concern about our internal security in the light of worrying firefights in our backyard and still counting.
Indeed, terrorists are next-door because nearby Burkina Faso which shares a frontier with us is engaged in a running battle with the sophisticated armed gangs. This is a country which a bicyclist can easily veer into from any of the villages fringing our borders with them; this is to underscore our proximity with the armed gang infested country.
Sometime last year, there was the alarm that some terrorists had breached our border and even killed some local residents on the Ghanaian side. Although the security agents up North dismissed the claim as a hoax, we are uncomfortable with their ‘all clear’ signal and the accompanying ‘no cause for alarm’ when there are smoking guns in the hands of non-state players in Burkina Faso.
Mali is embroiled in a war with the terrorists and she shares a frontier with Burkina Faso. This aggravates the situation and demands that we should not sleep with our eyes closed but upgrade our security services.
In military parlance, ‘we should not stand down’ now because the situation we are in dictates that.
The case for re-tooling the Ghana Armed Forces came up recently when President Akufo-Addo made good his promise of providing the military what they need to undertake their mandate of protecting the territorial integrity of the country.
If they must do this, the executive too must live up to expectation which is what the President is doing without doubt.
Watching out for terrorists behoves all of us Ghanaians and even our guests from foreign lands who are legally making a living in the country. Suspicious movements or information which could assist the security agents should be transmitted forthwith to the appropriate quarters. Those living in border areas in particular should be taught how to determine security challenges and what to do in such cases.
With porous frontiers which allow hordes of beggars from neighbouring countries and beyond to come to the country as they wish, our security is not guaranteed.
Niger might not share a border with us; it is also battling Boko Haram insurgents. A large percentage of beggars on the streets of Accra originate from that country. Disguising as beggars, the dreaded terrorists can easily enter Ghana. Therein lies the importance of education of the citizenry to be on the lookout for suspicious persons. That is not to say we should be overly suspicious to the extent of dropping our age-old hospitability. We should be welcoming to visitors even as we are alert for bad men and women who could be terrorists.
We ask that even as the Armed Forces are being re-tooled to respond to emergent security threats, government should turn their attention to the Border Patrol Unit of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the other security agencies. This way, the holistic approach to securing our frontiers and keeping the armed gangs at bay would yield dividends.
That the previous NDC governments failed to address the issue of re-tooling the security agencies especially the Armed Forces is worrying.
President Akufo-Addo deserves a pat on his back for doing what others failed in their so many years at the helm.