When one looks at how armed robbers are killing and crushing our police to death, the visibe threats of these terrorists and their activities in Ghana run shivers in one’s spine when one thinks about it but we will not give up on Ghana because this is the only country we have, and it doesn’t matter if Donald Trump describes it as a SHITHOLE alongside other African countries, the Caribbeans and Haiti. We will clean the “shit” around the hole and make our [ads1]country better and great despite the threats of these terrorists.
The time has come for us to rise and defend our dear motherland Ghana in the wakes of visible terrorism threats but the fact is that the police can never defend and protect lives and properties as a core mandate in the wakes of terrorism threats with empty hands and bare chests. These guys have already started trooping in with grenades and that shows that the battle ahead is not one with “flesh and blood” but one that requires much preparations and full equipping and maintaining of our security services particularly the police who mostly respond first to the attacks of terrorists before a back up from the military and other services but the question is how prepared are we?
The first time I personally head of terrorism attack was the 9/11 attack on the United States of America where the World Trade Center was bombed or crushed with an aeroplane. In that very attack, the Whitehouse, the American seat of president was also attempted but it was foiled due to the security alert systems America have in place. Later on Al Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden claimed responsiblities of that attacks. That was the beginning of the new trend of terrorism attacks though acts of terrorism is not new to this world. It is an old tactics of warfare.
After 9/11 attack on America by Al Quaeda where over 2000 people were estimated to have lost their lives in a single attack, many terrorism groups suddenly sprung up though they have been in existence for quite some time. You can talk of Taliban, Al Shabab, ISIS, Boko Haram and all the rest that you know of. I must say that terrorism is not only unique to only Muslims sects since we have had the Lord Resistance Army operating somewhere in Uganda and its neighbouring countries with the sole aim of ruling those countries with the 10 commandments of God and other Christians religious groups that carried out atrocities in other parts of the world.
After 9/11 attacks on America, we still felt that terrorism was far from Africa particularly those of us in the western sub-region of the Sahara despite the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army in East Africa which was considered to be more rebels than terrorists as may be described by convenience depending on how you see their operations or activities until we heard of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Then we got to know that terrorism was getting close but the question still remained that how close?
Boko Haram is probably the first terrorism group in West Africa though there has been others operating in the Northern enclave of Africa. Boko Haram became more dread and threatening with their capture of the 200 Chibok girls and believed to have killed at least some 6, 500 civilians and displaced a lot more. They have successfully carried out some bombings which still put fear and panic in people.
With the uprisings of Boko Haram in Nigeria, we still felt that terrorism was far away from us until we heard that some of our neighbouring countries like Cote D’Voire and Mali were attacked and claimed by these terrorist groups. Within the Sub-region, the only countries that have not come under the attacks of these terrorist groups yet is Togo and Ghana. I am not too sure about Togo though but if one looks at the political uprising in Togo currently, it looks like they are having their share of terrorism in different form.
In Ghana, we have not had any attack yet but there are visible evidence and traces that terrorism has closed down on us and the recent arrest and interceptions of grenades by the Odorkor police with people suspected to be militants of ISIS makes one to ask whether Ghana is ready to battle the guerrilla warfare known as terrorism employed by the these militants called terrorists? Are we and our security services ready to stand the fight against terrorism? Are we ready to to stand the test of terrorism?
I believe we have not forgotten Abdul Latif Alema, the KNUST graduate and his female counterpart from somewhere Tema and other Ghanaian youths who were suspected to have been recruited by one Badham Diallo, a Guinean who attended university of Ghana and later joined ISIS upon completion? Does the arrest by the Odorkor police of these people with grenades with whom one of them is confirmed to be a member of ISIS ring a bell? Does it connects the dots and the missing links as far as terrorism threats in Ghana are concerned? Are Ghanaian ISIS trainees coming back home to brood? I hope we have not also rubbish the report released by the Attorney General of Libya citing some Ghanaian as ISIS militants in Libya?
Yesterday when the president met the press, he assured Ghanaians that our security services have what it takes to contain the threats and attacks of terrorism and I want to believe that he being the president, and one who is better informed and well briefed about matters of security in this country knows what he is talking about so there is no need to be afraid but the fact is that we should be worried because even America and European nations which have the capacity and capability to fight terrorism get worried when they hear of it.
To be battle ready against terrorism, you must reorganise your security services particularly the police and the Military, equip and maintain them and also train and retrain them because terrorism is just not an attack , it is a war.
We will now understand the need to prioritise our security needs as a country. The politicians and decisions makers in this country will now understand what it means to equip and maintain the police and other security services when the attacks begin to take place though I hope not.
By Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III dkwofie17@gmail.com
#Ahantadiaries_18_01_18
