President Akufo-Addo says West African countries are spending a considerable chunk of their resources on the fight against terrorism
According to him, the fight against the canker should not only be left to a few countries since it’s a global phenomenon
Speaking at the UN’s 77th General Assembly, the President said limited resources that should have gone into critical state interventions had been channeled into the fight against the menace
President Akufo-Addo has emotionally appealed to the global community to help countries in the West African sub-regions fight against the terrorism threat.
According to him, the fight against the menace should not be left to only a few countries since it is a global phenomenon.
In an address to world leaders at the United Nation’s 77th General Assembly, President Akufo-Addo said the menace deserves the attention of all and sundry.
He added that the sub-regions scarce resources, which should have been channeled to other critical sectors, are being spent on fighting terror.
“All of us in the region are being forced to spend huge amounts of money on security. This is money we should be spending on educating and giving skills to our young people. This is a global problem deserving the attention of the world community for a global solution.”
He said the growing terrorism threat has catalyzed coup d’etats in West Africa.
“The terrorist pressure has provided a pretext for the unhappy reappearance of military rule in three of the 15 member ECOWAS Community,” he added.
Over 150 heads of state and high-level government representatives have converged at the UN’s headquarters in New York, USA, for the General Debate of the 77th session of the General Assembly, which began on Tuesday, September 20, on the theme, ‘A watershed moment: Transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.’
President Akufo-Addo’s address which touched on terrorism threats comes at a time experts warn against the growing reach of militants in West Africa.
The tentacles of such terror groups are said to be fast expanding towards the southern part of the sub-region, prompting fears for urgent governmental interventions.
Ghana has forcefully responded to such calls by beefing up security along its porous borders and introducing a ‘See Something, Say Something campaign to help address the menace. The campaign encourages local natives to respond to suspicious characters loitering in their various communities.
Terrorist Attack: Ghana Government Official Raises Alarm, Says Threat Is Real
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a top government official at the Ministry of Defence had disclosed that the threat of terrorists staging an attack on Ghana is very real.
The general public has thus been cautioned to be on high alert and report any suspicious characters to security agencies.
A Deputy Defence Minister, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, revealed on Sunday, May 15, 2022, that all of Ghana’s neighbors have already been hit by terrorists in the past few months.
