Former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings has lamented the over-reliance on physical security to enforce peace on the African continent and called for investment in identifying the root causes of insecurity.

He said: “Too often we invest in physical security but that creates more enmity and stress. We should invest more time in political security. Physical security subordinates us and brings the worst out of us instead of the best.”

Former President Rawlings made the call when the Governor of Abia State of Nigeria, Chief Theodore Orji, paid a courtesy call on him at his Ridge office in Accra.

Chief Orji is in Ghana to participate as the Guest Speaker at the 8th Security Watch Lecture Series and 9th Annual Africa Security Awards Ceremony organised by Security Watch Africa.

Former President Rawlings commended the organisers for the choice of subject and said lack of security was a problem confronting the continent.

He said during his tenure as leader of Ghana, his government invested more in reaching the sources of problems and empowering the people, dwelling a lot more on education and doing away with social injustices.

Governor Orji, who received an award for instituting exemplary security policies in Abia State, said he called on President Rawlings because of the special relationship Nigeria has with Ghana.

He said the state government had invested a great deal in boosting security in Abia through the empowerment of the people and involvement of every citizen in governance.

Loans, he stated, had been offered to the youth to start their own businesses, the security forces had been equipped not only with weapons but in the area of intelligence gathering and the state legislature has formulated laws that facilitated the policies implemented by government.

President Rawlings expressed his gratitude for the courtesy call and prayed that all efforts will be made to explore the root causes of the situation in Mali so its resolution will serve as an example of how Africa can resolve its own problems.

He commended Chief Orji for his outstanding leadership and said Africa needed a few more of his ilk.