By: Serena Osei Boahemaah
Security Analyst, Adib Saani has agreed with the security services in the country that terrorism threat is real and we need not think that it is just a touchdown.
Sitting with Thelma Tackie earlier on the GTV Breakfast Show on the topic “The Extremist Threat: Protecting Our Citizen And Democracy”, Mr. Saani professed that there is a lot of work being done in the security sector that is not publicized to reduce fear and panic…
“The threat has been there for sometime, make no mistake into thinking that the terrorist just touch down, however, I think there’s been an attempt to manage information so it doesn’t cause fear and panic…”, he said.
Making reference to the recent cases of terrorist attacks faced by neighboring countries, the security analyst has pointed out the unique opportunity terrorists lookout for that makes Africa including Ghana, their target;
“…we have similar deficits as these countries, some electoral systems of socio-economic and then geo-political deficits that make us susceptible; the borders is a major issue, we have 352 unresolved chieftaincy disputes, issues with the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, we have human insecurities that is pushing particularly young people into uncertainty and of course, desperation; the activities of these terrorists on social media…,” he declared.
He further brought to bare some reasons for terrorist attacks and the means of attack, stating that some terrorists target westerners and their backers and any African country having anything to do with the west becomes a potential target.
“In the past, African Union for peace and security said that, over 6000 sub-Saharan Africans have actually gone to Syria to fight and now that Islamic State is on the run, where do you think a lot of these people are? They are returning back to their basis and in Europe, we’ve seen attacks by ex-combatants, in Syria and the possibility that these people might have been back to their basis is very high,” he asserted.
He referenced a UN report in the past that indicated that terrorists had warehouses in the greatest Sahara.
“…this is the wake of a UN report earlier this year that stated that there’s a terrorist warehouse Specifically in the greatest Sahara; Ghana, Togo, Benin…they have the means.”
Watch the full interview below;
