BY: ROBERTA GAYODE MODIN
The Executive Director of the West Africa Centre for Counter Extremism (WACCE), Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar, has called on the Ministry of National Security to stop the copycat approach and educate Ghanaians on security issues like violent extremism based on local realities.
“If you see something , say something is an initiative of the Ministry of National Security aimed at creating awareness about terrorism and its related activities and to urge citizens to report suspicious activity that may be connected. Launching this campaign is to ensure we have all-inclusive, society involvement…the highest level of security, especially modern-day security, is to involve the citizens,” government spokesman Palgrave Boakye-Danquah told Joy News television during the launch of the campaign.
However, speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show, Mr. Mugthar is of the view that the campaign messages thus far have failed to address the purpose of the campaign because the messages are not reflective of local realities.
“From my experience, I do not see that education has gone down well within the local population. As it is now, there is a very poor level of education and discernment around what is Violent extremism… if you are asking people to say something if they see something, what is it that they need to see?” he queried.
“We are seeing messages that are being circulated on some platforms suggesting that, if you see a car packed for a longer period of time , there is suspicious activity. that is a copycat statement that you pick somewhere and you want to use them here. How many uber or taxi drivers park in Ghana to rest?” Mr. Muqthar added.
He made this statement in response to the viral case of a police officer who gunned down his alleged girlfriend for cheating on him at Adum.
