By Ellen Agbavor
Ghana and the West African sub-region face mounting security challenges that are being ignored, Nyansa Institute for Strategic Dialogue (NISD), warned at it’s first Networking & Dialogue Evening forum.
The dialogue forum was hosted by the Nyansa Institute for Strategic Dialogue in Accra.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Samuel Koranteng Adjei, Executive Director of the Nyansa Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said the recent discovery of ammunition caches in various parts of the region should serve as a wake-up call.
“We in Ghana, and in the sub-region, often believe that everything is fine,” Mr. Adjei told policymakers, educators, security experts, and young leaders gathered for the dialogue. “But the reality is different. Things are not normal.”
Mr. Adjei argued that national security cannot be reduced to policing alone.
He urged stakeholders to consider wider systems that underpin stability, including energy, education, and technological preparedness.
He flagged Ghana’s growing reliance on technology as a strain on already stretched energy systems.
“If energy sustainability is neglected, long-term national security and development would be at risk,” he warned.
On education, Mr. Adjei expressed concern that outdated curricula are leaving Ghanaian youth ill-prepared for the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He therefore called for an urgent reassessment of academic programs to align with future job markets and national development needs.
“This is Ghana’s chance to emerge as a new Ghana,” he stressed, urging honest and forward-thinking discussions among stakeholders.
Also speaking at the event, Edmund Akoto-Bamfo, Senior Programme Officer and Facilitator at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), highlighted the role of young people in addressing insecurity.
He introduced KAIPTC’s Youth in Leadership and Peacebuilding Course, noting that nations today face a mix of insecurity, social pressures, and economic challenges.
“We need to prepare young people for leadership positions in peacebuilding and national development,” Akoto-Bamfo said.
Participants at the forum agreed that stronger youth involvement and inclusivity are critical to addressing insecurity.
They called for more proactive national planning to tackle emerging security and development issues before they escalate.
Touching on the institute, Nyansa Institute for Strategic Dialogue ( NISD) describes itself as an independent organization dedicated to safeguarding individual rights, democratic processes, national security, and public safety against authoritarianism and extremism.
For two decades, the Institute has worked on threats including terrorist mobilization, extremist violence, foreign influence campaigns, and disinformation. Its response combines research, policy analysis, and innovation to counter violent groups and hostile influence operations.
Mr. Adjei, who has spent years in finance and risk management across banks in Ghana, Germany, and beyond, said this was a different kind of work.
“Today isn’t about balance sheets,” he said. “It’s about the future of our country.”
The dialogue ended with a consensus that Ghana must act now to address structural risks before they become crises.
Some participants indicated that, the evening marked a shift from complacency to conversation and hopefully, to action.
