NCCE engages youth groups at Karaga District on violent extremism

The Karaga District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has engaged various youth groups in the district as part of efforts to prevent violent extremism in the country.

The day’s event, held at Karaga in the Northern Region, was to educate the participants on the threat of violent extremism and terrorism, and how they could contribute to prevent and contain it in the country.

Participants included representatives of Ataya Base Youth for Development, Karaga Youth Parliament, Karaga Youth Centre, Beimoni Cultural Youth, Young Peace Ambassadors, and CAMA Ladies.

The event was in line with the Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism project being implemented by the NCCE with funding from the European Union to strengthen state and non-state actors in the fight against violent extremism in the country.

Chief Inspector Mr. Francis Henyor of the Karaga District Police Command, who represented the District Police Commander, and spoke on violent extremism, and measures to prevent and contain it in the country, said the youth and children were more exposed to radicalisation and extremism.

He mentioned religious, chieftaincy, political, land, and ethnic conflicts, unemployment, and poverty as some of the drivers of violent extremism and expressed the need for relatives and friends to always be on the alert to detect radical changes in individuals.

He urged the youth to embrace technical and vocational education to acquire self-employable skills to help address youth employment in the country and to ensure that they would not become targets for recruitment by extremist groups to foment trouble.

He said violent extremism was a threat to the country’s democracy and peace and expressed the need for residents to support preventive measures such as forming community watch groups, awareness creation and noting early warning signs, and using Police’s toll-free lines to report suspicious characters and acts.

Catechist Peter Baba of the Roman Catholic Church at Karaga emphasised the need for the people to prioritise religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and national unity and avoid discrimination, saying this was necessary to promote the development of the area.

Mr. Abdulai Sulemana Tanko, Deputy Coordinating Director of the Karaga District Assembly, urged residents of the area, especially the youth, to promote peaceful coexistence, saying this would make it difficult for extremist groups or any individuals to want to use them for nefarious activities or foment violence.

Mr. Mahama Osman, Karaga District Director of NCCE, called on residents to support efforts to prevent and contain the threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the area.

Source: GNA