Year: 2015
Op-Ed : Ghana’s frustrated youth are vulnerable to the radical call of ISIS
Op-Ed : Ghana’s frustrated youth are vulnerable to the radical call of ISIS
Students at University of Ghana (AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)
Read published article here: on Qz.com
BY Amba Mpoke-Bigg
Over the past couple of decades Ghana has won a hardearned reputation as a stable and settled democracy.
Yet, as news broke last week that a young university graduate from Ghana had left home to join Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS), it was hard not to dread the prospect of a mass exodus, or worse, deadly jihadist violence on our shores.
Those concerns were heightened when an investigative report by popular local radio station Starr FM reported that ISIS agents in Ghana are enticing unemployed youths with promises of cash and a gateway to heaven.
“They are promised initial spending fee and luxurious life before they travel to Syria and Iraq. Again their immediate families are assured quality life after they have left, so many of the young guys are considering it, especially in the Zongos (a slang term for neighborhoods populated by majority northern Ghanaian Muslims),” it quoted an interviewee as saying.
Twenty-five year old Nazir Alema Nortey, a graduate of one of Ghana’s leading universities sent a WhatsApp message to his family telling them he left the country earlier this month to join the Islamic extremist group, leaving behind a devastated family. The University Of Science and Technology graduate, is described by his father as a gentle, well-mannered man. Nortey was an active student on campus and showed no signs of being radicalized. He had a girlfriend. He was an ordinary man. Sketchy details of a second recruit, identified only as Rafiq also emerged this week at an official media briefing but there are already unconfirmed reports of a third—a young woman whose name has been given as Shakira Mohammed.
“Anyone is a potential recruit,” National Security Co-ordinator, Mr Yaw Donkor, told reporters at the briefing.
Donkor said would-be members were being headhunted from mainly tertiary institutions in Ghana where students were drafted into WhatsApp and Facebook social media forums in which radical discourse and indoctrination took place.
Among the many questions a shocked nation is asking itself is what might happen if radicalized youth return home. A look at what’s happening across Africa and around the world shows a sharp rise in the number of youth joining ISIS.
Ghana prides itself on its stable democracy and social harmony, but it was surely only a matter of time before the specter of Islamist militancy touched our shores given how close we are to troubled regional neighbours like Nigeria to the east, Mali to the northwest and Niger and Chad to the northeast. These are all now hotspots for militant Islam and terrorist activity.
Boko Haram, which has launched massive attacks in Nigeria since 2009, is the most troubling. The group which initially had links to al-Qaeda, pledged allegiance to ISIS in March. With little in place in terms of anti-terrorism measures in Ghana, what is there to stop us following the lead of our volatile neighbours?
Back in June there were angry demonstrations in Accra when city authorities ordered security forces to raze part of one of the largest slums, largely inhabited by Muslims, leaving thousands homeless.
One placard brought home the frustration: “Before 2016 , you will see Boko Haram in Ghana,” the sign read.
While some are blaming the internet and the accessibility of radical social media sites, there is an increasing possibility Islamic disaffection with Christian fundamentalism might be on the rise.
Christians make up 70% of the population of Ghana and Muslims 18%, according to official census figures from 2000. This has been disputed by Ghanaian Muslim leaders and other official sources who set the number at between 18% to 30%. Relations between the two religions have been peaceful in Ghana. But it’s often noted development and education have spread much faster in the predominantly Christian south than in the mainly Muslim north.
Ghana’s main political parties are not organised primarily on religious or ethnic lines, as happens elsewhere on the continent, and the country has had several Muslim vice presidents. Yet in the wake of these revelations the potential for Islamophobia against its Muslim minority is real.
We need to ask ourselves what the attraction is for an ordinary, middle-class Ghanaian young man, or woman, in joining the most dangerous jihadist group in the world. Words like radicalization seem almost incongruous with moderate Muslim youth. Yet it is true that education and liberalism aren’t foolproof armour against radicalization.
Neither can the economic factor be overlooked, given that Ghana, once Africa’s star economy, has turned to the International Monetary Fund to help it resolve its financial crisis.
President John Mahama says growth needs to be at least 8% to provide jobs for its young people, but growth has shrivelled in the past two years and it is expected to stand at 3.9% in 2015—below average for subSaharan Africa.
Unemployment data in Ghana is not collected, but Desmond Biney, director of the Unemployed Graduates Association Of Ghana sets the figure for unemployed graduates over the last five years at around 287,000. Current membership of the group which was set up as an advisory and placement service has doubled in the last two years.
And in further evidence of the impact of current economic conditions, Ghanaians have joined the hundreds of thousands of migrants risking their lives on the Mediterranean to seek work in Europe.
It is important not to overstate the problem. So far this is a tiny handful of people in a nation of 26 million. But for the majority of Ghanaians their decision to join ISIS should set alarm bells ringing. The question that needs answering is: how far will they go?
Aspen New Voices Fellowship Announces Call for 2016 Nominations
Aspen New Voices Fellowship Announces Call for 2016 Nominations
Aspen New Voices Fellowship Announces Call for 2016 Nominations
The Aspen Institute seeks nominations for one-year non-resident media skills and coaching program for next generation of global development leaders from the developing world
WASHINGTON, DC September 1, 2015– The Aspen Institute’s New Voices Fellowship today announced a call for nominations for the 2016 Fellowship class. The Fellowship initiative, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, offers development experts from Africa and other parts of the developing world a year-long program of media support, training, research and writing under the guidance of experienced mentors and trainers.
Candidates for the 20 Fellowships awarded next year must be experts in fields relating to global development. The Fellowship welcomes specialists from all development fields, and this year is particularly interested in professionals with backgrounds in food security, polio and/or infectious diseases and development finance.
Fellows must be from a developing country, and ideally work and live in their country of origin or another developing country.
Over the course of a year, the Fellowship works to prepare and support Fellows to become recognized thought leaders, helping amplify their insights and ideas rooted in experience on the ground. They will be given training and support to speak at major events; write conversation-starting op-eds and think pieces for major outlets; and build their social media platforms. The Fellowship is non-resident, but includes travel to training workshops as well as opportunities for travel to select international conferences.
Current Fellows have had their work featured in media sites ranging from the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and Al Jazeera to the Huffington Post, Africa Report, and AllAfrica.com. Fellows have been interviewed by news organizations including the BBC, CNBC, and National Public Radio (NPR) and been invited to speak at events including TED and the Aspen Ideas Festival
Application to the Fellowship is by nomination only through the program website at http://www.aspennewvoices.org/Nominations. The nomination period will close on November 1, 2015 and the incoming class will be announced in January 2016.
The New Voices Fellowship
The New Voices Fellowship at the Aspen Institute is a groundbreaking initiative designed to bring more expert voices from the developing world into the global development discussion. Launched in 2013 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the New Voices Fellowship is part of Aspen Global Health and Development. For more information, visit www.aspennewvoices.org.
The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, CO; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
Contact: Andrew Quinn
Director, New Voices Fellowship
The Aspen Institute
202-736-2291
Andrew.Quinn@aspeninstitute.org
Disability Rights Scholarship Program
Disability Rights Scholarship Program
The Disability Rights Scholarship Program provides awards for master’s degree study to disability rights advocates, lawyers, and educators to develop new legislation, jurisprudence, policy, research, and scholarship to harness the innovations and opportunities offered by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
With the knowledge and networks gained through the program, we expect that fellows will deepen their understanding of international law and education, with a focus on disability rights, and gain the tools necessary to engage in a range of CRPD implementation strategies, such as: challenging rights violations in their home countries by drafting enforceable legislation consistent with the CRPD; utilizing enforcement mechanisms set forth in the convention; taking forward disability rights litigation requesting CRPD-compliant remedies; engaging in disability rights advocacy; and developing law, education, or other academic curricula informed by the CRPD.
Inclusive Education Scholarships
For 2016–2017, in addition to awards in law, we will offer two awards for master’s degrees in education, focusing on inclusive education. Participants will build a foundation in the principles, values, and practices of inclusive education, and upon completion of the program will be equipped to lead reform of education policy and practice in their home countries. We welcome applicants from various professional backgrounds.
The competition is merit-based and open to those meeting the following criteria:
- be a citizen and legal resident of Argentina, China, Colombia, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, or Zambia at the time of application
- have work experience in the legal profession or advocacy focusing on human/disability rights and/or work in education with a demonstrated interest in advancing inclusive education
- have an excellent academic record with a bachelor of laws (LLB; in exceptional circumstances, those without a LLB but with substantial relevant experience may be considered); for inclusive education, a degree in teaching, public administration/policy, anthropology, social work, psychology, or related field
- have demonstrated leadership in the field of disability rights or education
- be proficient in spoken and written English or French and able to meet university-designated minimum scores on standardized language tests
- be able to participate in an intensive academic writing program in summer 2016
- be able to begin the graduate program in August or September 2016
- be able to receive and maintain visa or study permit required by host country
- demonstate a clear commitment to return to home country to advance the inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities in their communities, or to aid ongoing disability rights work
The program does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Candidates with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply.
Employees of the Open Society Foundations and employees of local administering organizations (and their immediate family members) who are directly involved in the administration of scholarships are not eligible, nor are individuals receiving other Open Society Foundations–funded support during the fellowship period.
For further details, please see the detailed guidelines available in the Download Files section of this page or contact the appropriate regional coordinator. For those needing materials in a different format, please contact the regional coordinator:
Residents of Malawi, Mozambique, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, or Zambia
Centre for Human Rights
(c/o Mr. Jehoshaphat Njau)
Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
Pretoria, 002, SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3587
Email: jehoshaphat.njau@up.ac.za
Residents of Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, or Peru
Prof. Francisco Bariffi
Centro de Investigación y Docencia en Derechos Humanos
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Calle 25 de Mayo 2855. 8º piso
Mar del Plata, CP 7600, ARGENTINA
Tel-Fax: +54-223-491-1376
Email: redcdpd@gmail.com
Website: redcdpd.net
Residents of China
Wing Mai Sang
Open Society Foundations
Scholarship Programs
224 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019 USA
Tel: +1-212-548-0379
Email: wingmai.sang@opensocietyfoundations.org