Muhammadu Buhari: Africa needs more than US military aid to defeat terror
Building infrastructure, connecting remote regions and providing jobs will strengthen the continent’s defences

Muhammadu Buhari AUGUST 15 2021



The author is president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Though some believe the war on terror winds down with the US departure from Afghanistan, the threat it was supposed to address burns fiercely on my continent. Africa is the new frontline of global militancy. Yet few expect the outlay expended here to be as great as in Afghanistan. The fight against terrorism begun under the George W Bush administration was never truly global.

Despite rising attacks across Africa in the past decade, international assistance has not followed in step. Mozambique is merely the latest African state in danger from terrorism. The Sahel remains vulnerable to Boko Haram, 20 years after its formation, and other radical groups. Somalia is in its second decade fighting the equally extreme al-Shabaab. Many African nations are submerged under the weight of insurgency.

As Africans, we face our day of reckoning just as some sense the west is losing its will for the fight. It is true that some of our western allies are bruised by their Middle Eastern and Afghan experiences. Others face domestic pressures after the pandemic. Africa was not then, and even less now, their priority. 

But the threat cannot be ignored. Covid-19 has been like oxygen for terrorism, allowing it to gain in strength while the world was preoccupied. Sooner or later, the reverberations will be felt beyond Africa. If extremist groups are able to hold territory, it can inspire disillusioned people living in the west to commit heinous acts of terror in their own countries. The self-proclaimed caliphate of Daesh in Iraq and Syria fulfilled that propaganda function, boosting transcontinental recruitment.

We must not complacently assume that military means alone can defeat the terrorists. If Afghanistan has taught us a lesson, it is that although sheer force can blunt terror, its removal can cause the threat to return.

The US and its western allies cannot be expected to underpin the security of others everywhere and indefinitely. Africa has enough soldiers of our own. However, more can be done to help with technical assistance, advanced weaponry, intelligence and ordinance. The US air strikes last month against al-Shabaab in Somalia — the first of the Biden administration — show what can and should be done. 

But what Africa needs most from the US is a comprehensive partnership to close the disparity between our economic and demographic growth. Despite having six of the world’s top 10 fastest-growing economies, my continent’s gross domestic product gains are insufficient to provide for burgeoning populations. Since the start of the US-led war on terror in 2001, Africa’s population has nearly doubled. Every day, every month, this means more unemployed or underemployed entering the labour market, far outstripping economic expansion. A lack of hope is the chief recruiting sergeant for the continent’s new brand of terrorism. 

What we need above all is investment in infrastructure. Transport and freight lines can spread opportunity across nations unequal in economic strength. In parts of Africa, a government’s grip on remote territories can be tenuous. Militant groups step into the void. Some even provide a form of governance, however perverse. These areas must be connected with their surroundings. 

The recent attacks in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique illustrate the point. Their target was a vast natural gas project, part of an international investment which extracts wealth but provides few jobs for locals. This fuels grievances in a poverty-stricken province. It is a landing pad for the likes of Daesh.

That is why we in Nigeria have begun building a train line from the southern coast through the north-east to Niger, our neighbour. My government has been accused of wasting money, because trade between our two nations is minimal. But that is hardly a surprise, given that there is no trade infrastructure between us. 

The train line will pay dividends in security, a prerequisite for economic growth. Some will remember that Boko Haram originated in north-eastern Nigeria, along the border with Niger. First, they agitated against a lack of opportunity. Then they radicalised into the terrorists we face today. 

The US already has schemes such as Power Africa, which invests in the continent’s essential energy infrastructure. However, more must be done. Ultimately, Africans need not swords but ploughshares to defeat terror. Yes, we require the technological and intelligence support that our armies do not possess. Yet the boots we need on the ground are those of constructors, not the military. Africa’s fight against terror is the world’s fight. We will defeat them one highway, one rail link — and one job — at a time.


https://www.ft.com/content/5e50eed6-1ca6-4a28-8341-52157b2f946e

Wetin concern me be say; Buhari is a terrorist. I go market this evening, i nearly mahd... Even an Average man can't afford his bill this days, geez; if yu stil get rubbaz pls spend wisely..

Good now that we are legalising boko haram, they will defend us

Y

Anything concerning this deceitful Mannequin dey sound like Noise for my ear.

Abeg make ah go roll my AZ and catch my cruise this sunday night....

Leaders dey talk even the wan weh no fit put sentence together dey follow talk. Person weh go dey speak english dem go still put subtitle because he doesn't know Nathing. lols. .

If you want terrorism to end globally annihilate Muslims.

The terrorists in Nigeria are just a phone call away from peace, and stop emptying Nigerian treasury all in the name of fighting terrorism that you and your team artificially created. Call them to order as you’ve just done but don’t try to recruit them into the Nigerian military because we already know the plans.

Africa have the capacity to defend itself. We really need to upgrade our military capacity. Africa must avoid corruption. Corruption weakens institutions and nations. Afghanistan government never gave it's people a reason to believe in them, because they indulge in wanton corruption.

A word is enough for the wise.

Yet the boots we need on the ground are those of constructors, not the military. Africa’s fight against terror is the world’s fight. We will defeat them one highway, one rail link — and one job — at a time.

Gbamsolutely, what we need is development. That is why some failed village idiots are working night a day to repatriate their successful brethren in the city by shouting secession. That is why we have some fools who support corruption because crumbs will be available for them to take home. If more focus is paid to addressing poverty many conflicts will fizzle out quickly.

Political will has been missing

Dude is using style to ask the us for money to build a rail. Be like say china no gree give am money o. He should go to Britain.

This is the first time I have hear that he wrote anything down ever

vedaxcool:
Yet the boots we need on the ground are those of constructors, not the military. Africa’s fight against terror is the world’s fight. We will defeat them one highway, one rail link — and one job — at a time.

Gbamsolutely, what we need is development. That is why some failed village idiots are working night a day to repatriate their successful brethren in the city by shouting secession. That is why we have some fools who support corruption because crumbs will be available for them to take home. If more focus is paid to addressing poverty many conflicts will fizzle out quickly.

If not that the opposition are just shameless, the infrastructure that Buhari is building and completing now, is something they should have done long time ago especially during high price of oil and low wage bill.
Not surprising though as they have a different approach to building the economy by relying on importation of goods and services aka container economy. They also believe in sharing the money among few while leaving our critical infrastructure to decay.
That is what the country will never go back to. But they are still having a false hope of return. Maybe after 2023 when they receive another round of defeat, they will accept their fate .

our leaders need to start articulating the reparations agenda

America was built with West African slaves

They need to repatriate the wealth created

The slave trade arrested our development

For centuries the only industry in West Africa was slavery

Again, if not infrastructure, then what?

The US cannot keep playing big brother to every country while other supposed world powers are developing economically and dont give a shit...

Fix your problem Africa... the US you keep calling on is a country aswell like yourself.

Says Mr body language communicator...


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Failed terroris!

deji17:


If not that the opposition are just shameless, the infrastructure that Buhari is building and completing now, is something they should have done long time ago especially during high price of oil and low wage bill.
Not surprising though as they have a different approach to building the economy by relying on importation of goods and services aka container economy. They also believe in sharing the money among few while leaving our critical infrastructure to decay.
That is what the country will never go back to. But they are still having a false hope of return. Maybe after 2023 when they receive another round of defeat, they will accept their fate .

They seem not to understand that they are a closed chapter. A terrible page that will be remembered only for their infamy.

vedaxcool:


They seem not to understand that they are a closed chapter. A terrible page that will be remembered only for their infamy.

Yes, reality will set in eventually.