The Builsa North Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Jeffery Adda has admonished the youth in Buluk to stay away from land and chieftaincy disputes.

He said it was rather profitable for the youth of Buluk to channel their energies to peace building, discipline, patriotism, nation building, hard work and also eschew acts of violent extremism in the Municipality.

Mr Adda gave the advice in Sandema, the Builsa North Municipal capital, when he addressed stakeholders at a youth activists engagement workshop on violent extremism.

The programme, on the theme; "Preventing electoral violence and providing security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (NORPREVSEC)," was sponsored by the European Union (EU).

The NCCE Director said there was the need for citizens, especially the youth to inculcate in themselves, the spirit of patriotism, and not allow themselves to be recruited by terrorist groups and movements to perpetuate crimes and violence.

He observed that strange people were sometimes seen in communities in the Municipality, but some residents were not bothered to get details about their visit to the Municipality, "but rather even offer them accommodation without any background checks.

"We are advised to look out for strange and suspicious characters in our communities who are likely to cause troubles, and report them to law enforcement agencies for investigations."

Mr Adda said the Commission had begun public awareness on national cohesion in communities within the Municipality, and as part of the awareness creation, highlighted the dangers that activities of violent extremists posed to Ghana's peace and security.

He appealed to religious leaders to use their platforms to preach messages of peace and national cohesion to promote religious harmony and forge peace and unity.

"I equally appeal to the traditional leaders to also employ local mechanisms of maintaining peace and peaceful co-existence between and among communities and ethnic groups," he said.

Mr Pontius Pilate Baba Apaabey, the Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE in a brief address, called for tolerance among residents in the area, saying there would be peaceful co-existence if the people of Buluk continued to tolerate each other as they did over the years.

Mr David Amoabil Afoko, the Builsa North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) urged the youth who were usually influenced by their peers, to ensure that such influences were positive for the development and peace of the area.

He said there was development in peace, adding that the future generation depended on the existing generation, "So if we want to have a very peaceful country, we those living now must help to bring peace to the land."