A private legal practitioner and a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has indicated that Government should warn Ghanaians who are seeking to travel abroad over terrorism threat.
His comment comes after the United Kingdom (UK) updated its travel advice for British nationals traveling to Ghana warning of likely terrorist attacks.
This update comes as the Government of Canada also cautioned its citizens of potential violent crimes in Ghana following the suspected kidnapping of two of its nationals in Kumasi.
But Otchere-Odarko thinks otherwise since according to him, the US and UK are countries that “have a long history of real and not imagined or predicted attacks”.
He has therefore called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to also warn the Ghanaian nationals queuing for visas to the two countries that; they should be careful about the real threat of an attack if they do intend to travel there.
Below is Gaby’s full write-up:
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko writes:
According to the Global Terrorism Database from the US, in 2017, there were 10,900 terrorists incidents in the world, resulting in 26,445 deaths and 24,927 injuries. None was in Ghana. I mean not a single attack was recorded here.
United Kingdom registered 122 incidents, 42 deaths and 301 injuries. United States recorded 65 incidents, with 95 deaths and 932 injuries.
The fact is no nation is safe and we, therefore, cannot be complacent. Our neighbourhood may not be as safe as we feel. There is evidence around us to that effect.
Of course, our Foreign Ministry is also free to warn Ghanaians queuing for visas to the UK and USA that they should be careful about the real threat of an attack if they do intend to travel there. Those countries have a long history of real and not imagined or predicted attacks. It is up to us to warn our citizens travelling there, too.
