Ghana’s stability under threat from violent extremism – Security Report

The West Africa Center for Counter-Extremism (WACCE) has disclosed that Ghana’s long-lasting political stability may soon be toppled after being closely exposed to threats of terrorism.

According to WACCE, Ghana’s narrative of peace and stability may no longer remain valid soon if adequate measures are not put in place to tackle the increasing threats from the Sahel.

The 2022 report from the organization titled “The Threat of Violent Extremism to Coastal States: Ghana’s Exposure to Violent Extremism” indicated that “the threat of terrorism is increasingly descending from the Sahel towards Coastal States.”

The report stated that “Ghana for a long time has remained a stable country in the midst of increasing extremist violence and political instability in West Africa… Yet Ghana has been so close to terrorism.”

WACCE explained that more than 53% of all ECOWAS states are experiencing insurgencies and the pervasive spill over phenomenon makes Ghana’s border regions a key area of concern.

It added that recent attacks in Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast highlight the determination of the terrorists to expand beyond landlocked Sahelian countries, where the insurgency has devastated thousands of lives and property in the last decade.

Ghanas-Exposure-to-Violent-Extremism-WACCE-Report-2022

The regional security research organisation, stressed that Ghana has a big number of prolonged unresolved chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts and tensions particularly in the Northern regions which can be exploited to cause mayhem.

“Ghana has over 352 unresolved chieftaincy conflicts. The protracted chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts in the border regions constitute a direct threat and opportunity for extremist exploitation”, WACCE emphasized noting that up to 97% (2020) of all terrorism fatalities occurred in countries already in conflict.

It stated that the inherently high exploitative capacity of extremists imply that these vulnerabilities put Ghana in danger of terrorist exploitation.