Vigilance at all levels will keep terrorists at bay

By Kofi Thompson

It was refreshing listening to the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) youthful firebrand, Mr. Anthony Abayeefa Karbo, a few days ago.

He spoke in such responsible fashion on Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show, about how important and urgent it was, for the security agencies in Ghana to be more vigilant - in light of Al-Shabaab's abominable inhumanity: seen during its appalling and senseless killing-spree at Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall on 21st September, 2013.

When a young politician, once alleged to be planning to destabalise Ghana, by recruiting ex-combatants in the civil wars in Liberia and the Ivory Coast, to cause mayhem across Ghana in pursuit of a secret political agenda, speaks so responsibly and shows such unalloyed patriotism - instead of being parochial in his thinking: as has usually been the case in the past - it is definitely a sign that there is heightened awareness amongst Ghanaians, of the potential danger posed to their nation by terrorists.

One hopes that the concerns expressed by Mr. Anthony Abaryeefa Karbo, on Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show, about the capacity of Ghana's security agencies to foil terrorist attacks before they are launched, will be taken up by the powers that be in Ghana.

Perhaps the positive example of Mr. Anthony Karbo, is also an indication that it is now slowly sinking into the minds of many in Ghana's political class that it is indeed but a small step from pursuing a career as a hired-thug and violence-prone foot-soldier causing mayhem for political parties in Ghana, to becoming a terrorist in the employ of Al-Qaeda affiliates on African soil, planting bombs in vulnerable nations across the continent.

That our homeland Ghana is as vulnerable to terrorists as has been the case for Kenya and Uganda - both of which have fallen victim to terrorist attacks by Al-Shabaab - is no longer doubted by many Ghanaians. They have the terrible examples in northern Nigeria and northern Mali to guide them.

Our secret services ought to abandon their propensity for focusing almost exclusively on political opponents of governments of the day, and instead take steps to ensure that they are in a position to foil potential attacks on Ghanaian soil by terrorists.

One of the ways that that can be done, is through closer collaboration between Ghana's secret services, and those of the nations at the forefront of the global fight against terrorism.

Above all, by being constantly vigilant at the individual level, ordinary Ghanaians can help make it harder for terrorists to harm their nation and its people - and by so doing enable theirs to continue remaining a free and open society.