Ghana must be gravely concerned about coups in West Africa – Adib Saani
It would be wrong for Ghana to consider coups in West Africa domestic issues – Security Analyst
A foreign policy and security expert, Adib Saani, has said the chaos in some West African countries due to political upheavals, including coups, could spill over to Ghana due to the country's porous borders.
According to him, the chaos caused by military takeovers in these countries serves as fertile grounds for terrorist organisations to thrive, which could spill over to Ghana.
Speaking to GhanaWeb, Adib Saani said Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabab springing up in some African countries when they were experiencing coups are examples of coups being fertile grounds for terrorism.
"Amid all the chaos, terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, ISIS in the Greater Sahara would take advantage of the confusion to reorganise, resupply logistics and of course move around, and Ghana is certainly part of the whole area in which there could be movements," he said.
He, however, noted that these groups might not immediately attack Ghana but would set up sleeper cells for future attacks.
"Terrorists from Burkina Faso can move into the country particularly owing to how porous our borders are; not coming to stage attacks but perhaps to establish sleeper cells for maybe attacks in the future," Adib said.
He, therefore, urged Ghana's national security apparatus to be gravely concerned about the frequency of coups in West Africa.
Adib Saani said it would be a mistake for Ghana to consider the recent military takeovers in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso as their domestic issues.
Foreign Policy and Security Expert, Adib Saani