In the Monday August 1, 2022 edition of The Chronicle, we used this column to express concern over the return of some Nigerien beggars onto some of the principal streets of Accra and other cities and towns in the country. This was after the state had spent our scarce resources to repatriate these migrants back to their country of origin. We had argued that terrorists nowadays do not need to enter one’s country openly brandishing deadly weapons before they can strike at their targets.
We noted that they could mingle with some of these foreign beggars and pretend to be destitutes who need urgent help. Meanwhile, they will be monitoring their targets and strike whenever the opportunity avails itself. We did also note in the said Editorial about the need for the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to keep an eagle eye on all the people entering the country from our neighbours.
Though remnants of these foreign beggars can still be seen on our major streets since we raised the issue, we have, however, noted with satisfaction how the GIS is operating at our border towns and measures that have been put in place, apparently by National Security (NS). With the threat of terrorism starring at us, the NS has deployed military personnel at all check points on roads leading from Ghana into our neighbouring countries.
The Chronicle has further noted with satisfaction that the military personnel at these checkpoints were not making direct contacts with the civilian population. They sat quietly at a distance as their police counterparts do the routine checks on vehicles using the corridor. We highly suspect they (military) will only intervene if there is the need to do so.
In the case of the GIS, The Chronicle noted, especially at the Asikuma checkpoint on the fringes of Volta Region, that the personnel were carefully calling people they suspect to be foreigners, who were being asked to disembark from their vehicles and asking them where they were going. Though this paper just eavesdropped on the interrogation, we realised that one of the travellers who was being questioned by the GIS personnel was fumbling with the answers.
This mode of ensuring security for a nation is done all over the world and we are happy that the GIS has introduced and is implementing it as part of their operations. We believe this strategy is not only going to ward off potential terrorists, but will ensure that the human cargo being imported into the country to work as street beggars will be curtailed. The economic meltdown, which is being attributed to several global factors has really hit this country very hard and to bring economic migrants into the country in the face of all these difficulties should not be countenanced.
Yes, we admit Ghanaians have also migrated into some of these West Africa countries, but they are not there as beggars on the streets. They are rather working hard to contribute to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of their host countries. As we have indicated in our previous editions, children of these foreigners begging for alms on our streets do not have access to any formal education. They will, therefore, grow to become an albatross on our neck and there will be nothing we can do about it.
This is the reason why we must stop their illegal migration into the country if we, as a country, are really thinking about the generations yet unborn.
