The President–General of the West Africa Nobles Forum (WANF), Nana (Dr) Appiagyei Dankawoso I, has appealed to Ghanaians and foreign residents to act as neighbourhood watchdogs, to complement efforts of security agencies in preventing crime in the country.
He reminded the public that the fight against burglary, kidnapping, theft, robbery, serial killings and ritual murders, currently bedeviling the nation, was a collective responsibility of residents and the police.
A statement signed by Nana Dankawoso I, said “the gravity of the situation called for every resident in the neighbourhood to be vigilant and critical of strangers and strange movements of people in their place of abode.”
He said: “It is time for Ghanaians to be their neighbour’s keeper, by showing interest in happenings around them and reporting suspicious people to the police”.
Nana Dankawoso I, commended the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, on his appointment, and urged him to make an impressive impact on his new office.
He said “I am happy that the IGP is already acting promptly by sending his men to distress call areas and personally visiting victims of these attacks. The Ghana Police Service should re-introduce police visibility concept, not only in our highways, but also in our neighbourhoods.”
Nana Dankawoso I, who is also the immediate past President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, appealed to parents to monitor their children, especially when they found them (children) moody and attempted to avoid people or home.
He condemned the killing of human beings for rituals, by minors and teenagers, saying “this is a threat to national security and safety of the citizenry.”
Nana Dankawoso I appealed to security agencies to be more vigilant, and urged bus owners to employ police or military escorts to provide security for the passengers against armed robbers on the highways.
He observed that the Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and parts of Burkina Faso was a wake-up call to Ghanaians to give vital information to the police to help track criminals.
He said the volatility of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) countries to terrorist attacks should also be the concern of all.
Nana (Dr) Appiagyei Dankawoso I was early this year elected as the new President-General of the WANF, a group of eminent personalities of the sub-region, who believe in the virtues of integrity and accountability in public and private life.
BY TIMES REPORTER