The new scramble for Africa | TheArticle

Failure both to alleviate poverty and to command the confidence of citizens are contributory causes of jihadism.  The high-flown titles of such armed groups can give a false impression.  The

footsoldiers of such militias have little knowledge of Shari’a and the Qur’an.  They are in the employ of better educated jihadists, given a Kalashnikov, earn a living and eventually can

pay the bride-price for a wife.  The corruption in African states, the siphoning off of national wealth, the absence of reward  for competence and merit, is not news to their citizens.  I

was being driven south from Makeni to Freetown in Sierra Leone and noticed a new railway running parallel with the road.  “Where does that go?” I asked the driver.  “Beijing,” he replied.  I

could see him grinning in the rear-view mirror.  

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