President Muhammadu Buhari has called for a stronger collaboration between the United States and Africa to boost economic growth.
The president said this in an opinion piece titled, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: Africa needs more than US military aid to defeat terror’, featured in the Financial Times, UK, on Sunday.
He said that terrorism in Africa can only be put to an end through the use of technology and not “swords”.
Buhari said that “what Africa needs most from the US is a comprehensive partnership to close the disparity between our economic and demographic growth.
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“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.”
Addressing the issue of the proposed rail route from the south of Nigeria through the northeastern part of the country to neighbouring Niger Republic, the president said that the purpose of the project was to create a robust trade infrastructure between both countries.
He said, “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.”
