A Security Analyst and Team Leader of Coginta Ghana, Rev Father Clement Aapengnuo has warned against the discrimination of the Fulbe tribe in the country, saying it is dangerous for the peace and security of Ghana.
He said the country was sitting on a “time bomb” for ethnocization of pastoralism and the Fulani people could jeopardize the country’s fight against terrorism if not addressed immediately.
Rev Father Clement noted that the threat of terrorism in the country was real and close, adding that the discrimination against the Fulani people made the situation worse as such discrimination was more likely to invite attacks on the country.
The Security Analyst was speaking to students of the Nurses and Midwifery Training School in Tamale at a forum organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Tuesday, June 20.
The forum was part of a series of activities under the Commission’s Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) project which is funded by the European Union and aimed at sensitizing Ghanaians on the violent extremism in the Sahel regions of West Africa and how to prevent its spread into the country.
Rev Father Clement whose organization largely operates in Northern Ghana called on the state to find ways to address the discrimination against the Fulani people, saying it is one of Ghana’s biggest threats against the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
“We’re sitting on a time bomb, we have identified the Fulbe tribe, we have ethnized pastoralism, we are discriminating”
“When you see that somebody has committed a crime, you don’t take the laws into your own hands” he said.
He urged the students nurses and midwives to be on a look out for, and report suspicious characters in their health facilities and communities through the “See Something, Say Something” campaign of the government.
The Northern Regional Commander for Enforcement and Intelligence at the Ghana Immigration Service, ACI Ibrahim Osaka Lang-Hani assured Ghanaians of the Security's readiness towards protecting the country from the activities of terrorists and violent extremists.
He however urged Ghanaians to help the security agencies by assisting with information on suspicious characters in their communities.
The Northern Regional Director of the NCCE, Alhaji Ali Mohammed said the PCVE project has been launched in tertiary institutions in the Northern Region to create the awareness of the students and use them as ambassadors in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the country.
He said the students would be encouraged to also educate the communities and the public on terrorism and violent extremism, adding that it would go a long way to help spread the campaign to the doorsteps of all Ghanaians.