NCCE sensitises stakeholders to violence, extremism
The Paramount Chief of the Dodo Traditional Area, Dasebre Oduro Guranim I, has called on the public to support institutions such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to educate and create awareness programmes in the run-up to the general election.
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That, he said, would ensure the public would become more alive to the threats of violence and extremism which had a variety of trigger signs that abounded in the country. He also requested political leaders to engage in responsible campaigns for the successful execution of the general election in December.
The paramount chief was speaking at a district Inter-Party Advisory Committee ( IPAC) forum in Kadjebi in the Oti Region last Saturday.
Forum
The stakeholders forum formed part of the Preventing and Containing Violent Extremists (PCVE) project to broaden their minds on the potential threats of violence and extremism. It was also organised to educate the public on how to promote peace before, during and after the 2024 elections by the district NCCE and funded by the European Union.
Participants in the forum included representatives from political parties, religious groups, civil society organisations, traditional leaders among others.
Triggers
Dasebre Guranim said the prevailing economic hardship, which was one of the triggers, could be exploited by people in the business of recruiting youth for such activities. As such, he said as a first step, strong parental control was needed to prevent children from growing up into uncontrollable youth who could be easily radicalised.
He also mentioned other factors crippling the society as bribery and corruption, and mistrust of most systems such as the leadership, the Judiciary and the Electoral Commission as potential triggers.
Dasebre Guranim encouraged the public to assist the police service in their mandate to keep the peace by giving them information which could lead them to maintain the peace which was a prerequisite of deepening democracy in the country.
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Resolving conflicts
The Kadjebi District Police Commander, Superintendent Frank Nana Asomaning, said proper provision should be made to ensure that the public was less vulnerable to the threats and called on all concerned to take an interest in the ongoing educational and awareness programmes.
He was of the view that conflicts, which were in itself not bad, would become problematic if not controlled. He expressed his gratitude to the efforts of institutions such as the Peace Council, regional houses of chiefs among others in conflict resolution.
The police commander gave the assurance that efforts would be intensified in awareness creation, capacity building and economic empowerment of the people if the threats could be combated.
The Kadjebi District Director of the NCCE, Daniel Agbesi Latsu, urged the participants to extend the message and contribute their quota to ensure that threats would not rear its ugly head in the area which is a border enclave.