Support ‘See something, Say something’ campaign

Events on the continent and especially in West Africa, where terrorist attacks are emerging, should be disturbing to all peace-loving people.

Last Sunday, the Deputy National Security Coordinator, Edward Kwaku Asomani, indicated that in the first quarter of this year, Africa had experienced about 346 terrorist attacks, 49 per cent of which had occurred in West Africa.

These statistics are something that should worry any citizen, as they allude to the fact that the sub-region is becoming a hot bed for terrorist activities.

With attacks in Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire in recent times, it is obvious that Ghana cannot be complacent and faces the risk of a spillover due to the southward drift of terrorism from the Sahel region to coastal West Africa.

It is therefore, incumbent on all of us to be vigilant and avoid the lukewarm attitude with which we approach issues around us — in our homes, places of worship, markets, educational institutions and even our workplaces.

In that vein, we consider the launch of the citizens’ awareness campaign which is aimed at protecting the country against terror attacks by the Ministry of National Security as apt.

Many of us may not be enthused and appreciate the importance of the campaign, considering our general attitude of being hospitable to strangers and also appearing not to bother ourselves with the things happening around us.

For this reason, we further believe that the "See something, Say something" campaign must encourage all of us to be vigilant concerning the activities of suspicious characters within our communities and among us.

We need to remind the populace that keeping our communities safe is a shared responsibility, hence the need for the citizenry to collaborate with the state security agencies not only to fight crime but also reduce the threat of terrorist attacks on Ghana.

Such a collaboration is critical because of the unconventional methods the attackers use when they launch assaults on countries. We must join hands as a proactive measure to avert any such unfortunate attacks, as we, our relatives, friends and colleagues may find ourselves at places where attacks may take place.

While calling on the citizenry to support our security agencies, we believe that property owners must be up and doing and not rent out their apartments to just the highest bidder but check and cross-check the backgrounds of people either renting their apartments or fronting for others.

The terrorists will not fall from the moon but will find settlements to plan and strategise on what targets to strike first. The most vulnerable places will certainly be the first ports of call to hit, hence the need for us to take the campaign seriously.

The Daily Graphic urges the citizenry not to take advantage of this campaign to pass on wrong information to the security agencies. If they do that, when it will matter most the security agencies may not be available to deal with the real threat.

We urge our security agencies to consider sharing a common platform where intelligence can be shared and the requisite proactive action taken. The agencies should not be seen to be competing among themselves but working together for the common good of the country.

Ghana is known to be peaceful and stable, and it is our responsibility to own the “See something, Say something” campaign to keep our country intact as a safe haven for tourism, investment and development.

We must not allow any group of persons to hold us to ransom by creating fear and panic among us, as well as taking over our rich natural resources.

All hands must be on deck to help keep our country safe. The media must play their part by not using their platforms to deepen the fear but rather educate and inform the populace on their role in helping to assist the security and the intelligence agencies to respond appropriately.

It is our conviction that if we see anything untoward, we must pass the information to the appropriate authorities for them to act.