Buhari rejects western military assistance to tackle terrorism in Nigeria, Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari has said highways, railways and jobs are what Nigeria and Africa require to counter terrorism on the continent.

The President made the comment in an opinion piece entitled “African needs more than US military aid to defeat terror” published in the UK’s Financial Times on August 15.

His reflection now seems a departure from his earlier plea for the US to relocate the Africom Command in Stuttgart, Germany, to Africa.

He made the subtle request in the heat of banditry and terrorism in Nigeria’s north east then.

Now he believes Africa doesn’t need any foreign boots on its soil.

“Ultimately, Africans need not swords but ploughshares to defeat terror,” the President said.

“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.”

The US pulled its troop from Afghanistan in May and the country has just been over-run by the Taliban whose government America came to topple (but failed” following its role in “September 11” terrorist attack in the US 20 years ago.