Maintaining any relationship with extremist groups makes you one of them — NCCE

By Yussif Ibrahim Fawoade (Ash), Oct. 30, GNA – Consider yourself a violent extremist if you are engaged in any activity that promotes extremism as a Ghanaian, Mr. Samuel Asare Akuamoah, a Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has stated.

He said one did not need to be a member of a terrorist group to be seen as a threat to society but maintaining any form of relationship with such groups or their assigns was tantamount to undermining national security.

Mr. Akuamoah, who was addressing a symposium on violent extremism at SIMMS Senior High School at Fawoade in the Kwabre East Municipality, admonished Ghanaians to be extremely careful with the kind of people they dealt with, especially strangers.

She said terrorists and extremists could use locals as conduits to perpetrate their heinous crimes and cautioned any citizen who may be a collaborator of such evil enterprise to consider the repercussions of their actions on humanity.

The symposium, which sought to sensitise the students on the dangers associated with violent extremism, was on the theme: “Empowering Ghanaian Citizens to Promote National Cohesion and Inclusive Participation.”
According to the NCCE Deputy Chairman, even believing in the indoctrination of extremist groups or sympathising with them was a form of advocacy for their activities.

He said some extremist groups might not be physically present in the country, but their indoctrination of natives remained a threat to the peace and stability of the country.

He, therefore, entreated parents to be interested in the kind of friends their children keep outside the country to forestall the possibility of them falling prey to the bad influence of these nation wreckers. Mr. Akuamoah advised the youth to report any person, who may want to lure them into extremism to the security agencies as good citizens.

Superintendent Seth Kukubor, the Municipal Police Commander, counseled the students to concentrate on their studies and stay away from bad company that could lead them astray.

He recounted a case in which four students were behind bars for their involvement in a murder case with two others also being held for robbery. He said it was sad for the education of young boys full of potential to be truncated and urged the students to learn from their predicaments to guide them not to succumb to peer pressure.

The Municipal Commander expressed grave concern about the alarming rate at which senior high school students were arrested anytime the police responded to violent clashes. Mr. Nazif Sadisu Mohammed, the Municipal Director of NCCE, said the increasing threats of terrorism in the West Africa Sub-Region should be a source of concern for every Ghanaian.

He entreated the citizenry not to see happenings in neighbouring countries as their own problem and guard against complacency to avert a possible spill-over.