Ghanaian security expert Professor Kwesi Aning has sharply criticised government authorities for not issuing any formal warnings to traders who frequently travel to Burkina Faso and other high-risk regions despite escalating insecurity in parts of the Sahel. His comments came after a deadly attack on Ghanaian tomato traders in northern Burkina Faso where several people were killed.
Prof. Aning, a security consultant and lecturer at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, said he reviewed whether official institutions — including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Road Transport Union, and the Tomato Sellers Association — had issued travel advisories for Ghanaians crossing into Burkina Faso, Mali or Algeria given rising terrorist threats. He found that none of them had done so.
Speaking on a local radio and television show, Prof. Aning said this failure to warn citizens amounts to a serious lapse by the state at a time when many people take great risks in search of livelihoods. “When a state fails its people at their critical point of need, words of sympathy almost don’t mean anything,” he said.
His remarks follow the Valentine’s Day attack on Ghanaian tomato traders near Titao in northern Burkina Faso, where insurgents targeted a group of traders traveling with produce to sell in Ghana. Multiple Ghanaians were killed and others injured in the incident, which has drawn national attention to the dangers faced by cross-border traders.
Prof. Aning urged the government and relevant organisations to urgently establish clear travel advisories and safety coordination for Ghanaians who operate across borders. He warned that without proper guidance and protection measures, more citizens could be exposed to danger as they pursue economic opportunities in insecure areas.
