“If we are able to ensure good governance, then we wouldn’t have problems with threats of violent extremism and radicalism in the country,” he stated.

Mr Poku said the high unemployment rate and underdevelopment create dissatisfaction and thereby undermined national peace and stability.

The former national security coordinator under the former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s government was speaking at the Regional Dialogue session on trending conflict issues in Sunyani.

The National Catholic Secretariat organised the day’s session, attended by traditional leaders, representatives of religious bodies, security services, youth groups, policy implementers, trade associations and Senior High School students.

It was on the theme: “Trending Conflicts in Ghana, Fertile Grounds for Violent Extremism: A Call for Action,” and was in line with the Sahel Peace Initiative project being implemented by the Secretariat with funding from the Catholic Relief Services, a non-governmental organization.

Citing Burkina Faso as an example, Mr Poku said about 60 per cent of that country had been taken over by rebels where people could not go on with their normal lives.

“In fact, Ghana must ensure we don’t run into that kind of situation where traditional chiefs had been slaughtered openly before their subjects,” he stated.

Insecurity, Mr Poku emphasized, remained a serious problem, hence the need for the nation to do more by tackling its security threats proactively to sustain national stability.

Mr George Agbozo, a Senior Lecturer at the Catholic University of Ghana and an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practitioner, expressed regret that the citizenry had certain misconceptions about governance, with some gradually losing faith in the judicial system.

This, he added, had the potential to breed the culture of violence and extremism, if not tackled proactively.

Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister mentioned chieftaincy conflicts, illegal mining, unemployment, and activities of nomadic Fulani herdsmen as some of the security challenges, which needed attention in the region.

She commended the organisers for the dialogue and expressed the hope that it would strategised and help provide realistic interventions to tackle the threats of security, not only in the region, but the nation by extension.