By Ken Sackey, GNA
Ouagadougou, Sept. 15, GNA – President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on ECOWAS Member States to, without delay,
adopt and execute the measures that have been structured by the bloc to address
the menace of terrorism in the Region.
He urged the Authority of Heads of State and
Government of the ECOWAS to accept and implement the ECOWAS Commission’s
proposals to tackle terrorism, as the plan could substantially deal with
violent extremism in the region.
Addressing the ECOWAS Extraordinary Session
in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, President Akufo-Addo indicated
that West Africa was witnessing a gradual deterioration of security as a result
of the presence of operatives of terrorist groups in the region and stressed it
was time to rout out that threat before the stability of the Region and the
rest of the continent was compromised.
“Our situation in West Africa has become
grave with the presence of operatives and surrogates of al-Qaeda functioning in
the Sahel, and Boko Haram militants operating around the Lake Chad Basin.
“It is time we heeded the clarion call of
ending these threats. We need to cultivate the culture of sharing information
amongst ourselves, and harmonise efforts to deal with them, as they affect not
just our region, but also the entire African continent,” he stated.
The President was confident that when
rightly implemented, the Commission plan to confront terrorism, could to a
great extent, address terrorism in all its forms in the Region.
He noted that the priority areas of plan
“touch on every aspect of the terrorism canker, from promotion of
inter-community dialogue, intelligence gathering and sharing, strengthening
border security controls, training and equipping state actors, dealing with
terrorism financing, coordination of counter-terrorism efforts, strengthening
control of arms and dual use goods, and the mobilisation of resources to fund
counter-terrorism within the region.”
President Akufo-Addo applauded the synergy
being employed by members of the G5 du Sahel, and the ongoing multinational
operations in the Lake Chad Basin, which have driven out some of the terrorist
elements from the area.
The terrorists, as a result, are now moving
south in search of safe haven in countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin and
Ghana.
The President told his colleague Heads of
State that the Accra Initiative, involving regular meetings of security and
intelligence heads from Ghana and her neighbouring countries, namely Cote
d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin, was ongoing to review and formulate
joint strategies towards combating shared threats on terrorism and violent
extremism.
Mali and Niger have also recently joined the
deliberations under the Accra Initiative.
“We have to ensure the proper co-ordination
of measures, such as those of the G5 du Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin Joint Task
Force and the Accra Initiative, to help deal effectively with terrorism and
security in the Region. This will build synergy, avoid duplication of efforts,
and eliminate gaps that may be exploited by terrorist elements,” President
Akufo-Addo added.
Whilst focusing on the proposal by the
ECOWAS Commission, the President urged his colleagues not to overlook the
critical economic, political and social policies that had to be engineered to assist
in the fight against terrorism.
“Promoting inter-communal dialogue,
enhancing religious tolerance, de-emphasising ethnic divisions and chieftaincy
conflicts, guaranteeing access to education, stimulating economic development
in deprived communities – these are necessary adjuncts to the arsenal of
security and intelligence needed to win the fight,” he added.
The President indicated Ghana’s support, in
principle, for the proposal made by President Alassane Ouattara of Cote
d’Ivoire for the funding of West Africa’s counter terrorism efforts, but
stressed that Ghana needed further consultations to arrive at a concrete
figure.
He also urged the Authority not to ignore
offers of assistance and solidarity, especially the one recently made at the G7
meeting of the world’s most advanced economies, in Biarritz, France, last month
on 25th August, which aimd at strengthening peace and security co-operation,
and increasing support to Sahel States in the fight against terrorism.
“We must certainly respond to it, and
discuss with them urgently the exact details of the co-operation they are
offering. We must welcome these gestures of solidarity. Ghana’s commitment to the fight against
terrorism is absolute, and we are willing and determined to work with fellow
ECOWAS Member States in combating it effectively,” the President added.
GNA
