Vice President urges military to educate against conflicts

Accra, Aug 6, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Friday called on African military leaders to use the experience they gained at military colleges to educate their people against provoking conflicts in the continent.

"We want to see Africa as one continent at peace with itself and at peace with others beyond the continent in the coming years."

Vice President Mahama made the call during the graduation ceremony for 39 Senior Military Officers from Ghana and other African countries at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Accra.

Out of the number, 19 were from Ghana, with 20 from other African countries including Togo, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Senegal and the Gambia.

The officers undertook courses in Defence Management, Conflicts and Crises Management, Governance and leadership, while 13 of them undertook a Masters of Arts Degree in International Affairs at the University of Ghana.

The Vice President said the government would continue to commit adequate resources into the training school to make it one of the best in the world "not only for Ghana but for the entire continent and beyond to benefit."

Vice President Mahama commended the Staff of the college for admitting students from other African countries adding "it is not only advertising the country, but also making Ghana a state of military intelligence for others to learn from."

Major General Kwesi Yankson, Commandant of Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, announced that the College had been accredited to run tertiary courses and more students would be admitted in the next course.

He said the College had signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) to run a post-graduate Diploma course for the graduates and would liaise with other institutions to run different related courses for the officers.

Three Ghanaian officers, Major J. Danso-Ankrah, Major J.A Wiafe and Major R.K Mensah who emerged the best second best and third best students respectively, were each given a trophy, book and laptop computers.

There were other four awards for officers from Nigeria and Rwanda