Security Analyst Dr. Vincent Azumah has raised concerns about Ghanaians' limited awareness in identifying potential terror threats, citing a lack of public education as a critical weakness in the nation’s counter-terrorism efforts.In an interview with The Independent Ghana, Dr. Azumah highlighted findings from an experiment conducted by his organization, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).

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The exercise revealed a troubling gap in vigilance when a stranger left a backpack unattended in a church filled with congregants."He sat on the pews for a few minutes, left there, and walked out. The bag was there; the guy didn't return. Church closed, and we went back to take the bag. Assuming the person was a terrorist and dropped that bag there, a lot of people would have died because nobody checked. He was a total stranger.

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Nobody asked him any questions. We came back and picked our bag. It is for all of us to open our eyes," Dr. Azumah said.Stressing the role of public awareness in combating terrorism, he added:"It is not a matter for the security agencies alone. It is a matter for every Ghanaian to be able to know that there is a threat, a pending threat. You'll just be walking with a terrorist beside you and you'll never know.

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What should be done is some basic education to all Ghanaians. You need to keep your eyes and ears open, and when you see something suspicious, you raise an alarm. Education is key."Dr. Azumah’s remarks follow a recent report by Reuters suggesting that militants from Burkina Faso are using Ghana's northern regions as logistical bases for gathering supplies and receiving medical treatment.

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While Ghanaian authorities have denied the presence of Islamist militants in the country, Dr. Azumah pointed out the vulnerability of Ghana's porous borders, insufficient security personnel, and inadequate technology as potential risks."Ghana cannot be an island where Togo has been hit several times, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso. What we don't know for sure is where these guys are.

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Where is their base in Ghana? Have they been arrested? No one can say that for sure. Monitoring terrorists is one of the most difficult tasks any country can experience. One cannot say the terrorists are not able to enter Ghana. They may be in Ghana, and nobody can tell until the security agencies are able to locate them and flush them out. You know that Ghana has very porous borders.

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There are large spans of land that have no security manning them. They can come in and out at will, and we cannot say the terrorists cannot take advantage of this," he said.Although Ghana has not experienced a confirmed terror attack, experts warn that unchecked movements of insurgents could lay the groundwork for future threats.

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This warning comes amid revelations that the country’s anti-terror hotline, 999, launched in May 2022, has become unresponsive. The hotline was introduced as part of the Ministry of National Security’s “See Something, Say Something” campaign to facilitate the reporting of suspicious activities.

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However, calls placed by The Independent Ghana on October 25 were met with automated messages promoting unrelated services, leaving the hotline inaccessible.Public frustration over the issue is growing. One citizen remarked, "I tried calling this morning. They didn’t pick up. Hmm, Ghana."Addressing the inefficacy of the hotline, Dr. Azumah attributed it to prank calls and the government’s inability to sustain initiatives.

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"I have also heard some of the security apparatus complaining that people just call those lines just to have fun. We are not able to sustain what we start. It is a Ghanaian attitude that needs to be changed... we start nicely, and we dump them," he said.He emphasized the importance of leveraging local structures to report suspicious activities."It is not only taking a phone. It is not everyone who has a phone.

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In those communities where electricity is a challenge, if your phone is dead, what do you do? You may not be able to call."It is one of the many ways we can use to repel or save you from any pending attack. There are many other avenues that I think should go wider than just See Something, Say Something. We have the security agencies in our communities, so you don't really need to call anyone in the capital to report something that you've seen.

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The Local District Assemblies have people who are trained to respond to some of these things. The Chief's Palace, Linguists—all these are local structures we can use to report the movement of suspicious people," Dr. Azumah concluded.

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