Collaborate to fight extremists - NCCE urges media, security agencies

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is advocating an effective collaboration between the media and the security agencies to fight extremist activities from spreading into the country, especially along with border communities.

The Deputy Chairman of the NCCE in charge of Finance and Administration, Ms. Kathy Addy, said the commission was worried about the increasing cases of violence in the country, adding that to solve the problem, it required a collaborative effort between major stakeholders, particularly the media, to drum home messages of peace and non-violence.

"These subtle extremist activities sprouting up have the potential to destroy the peace we have been enjoying and the media really can become a great platform that would spread peaceful messages through consistent reportage", she said.

Workshop

Ms. Addy was speaking at a workshop organised by the NCCE for youth groups in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) District in the Central Region.

The workshop was the last of six sessions organised in some selected districts in the Central Region as part of the NCCE's nationwide exercise to ensure communities along the borders were sensitised to the causes and effects of violent extremism.

Ms. Addy said the exercise followed a survey conducted by the NCCE titled “Risk or threat Analysis of Violent Extremism in Ten Border Regions of Ghana” with support from the European Union (EU), where findings suggested that Ghana was prone to violent extremist activities.

Security-conscious

The Deputy Central Regional Director of the NCCE, Alhaji Aliu Mohammed, charged participants to promptly move to report suspicious activities to the appropriate quarters to take swift measures.

He said citizens must help expose individuals who engaged in violent extremism that had the potential of undermining the country's stability.

"Let us share information with the appropriate authorities so as to preclude such elements from gaining a foothold in our communities".

He explained that civic education in a democratic society was concerned with promoting the understanding of the ideals of democracy and the NCCE in the region was poised towards achieving its cause of educating and empowering the populace.

The KEEA Municipal Director of the NCCE, Mr. Danabsin Naandam, cautioned the public against ignoring the negative effects of violent extremism emphasising that happenings in other countries should become the blueprint for averting the situation before it happens.

"We should not be recruited or support secessionist movements and violent extremism because it would have an adverse lasting impact on whoever falls prey", he said.