Date: Tue Dec 2 12:53:11 2014
Defence spending-Arms and the African
The continent's armies are going on a spending spree
Dec 2nd 2014 | GOMBE and KAMPALA |
<http://www.economist.com/printedition/2014-11-22> From the print edition
THE north-eastern Nigerian town of Chibok is spared little. Earlier this
year fighters from the extremist group, Boko Haram, abducted more than 200
local schoolgirls. In the past week insurgents and government troops have
traded possession of urban districts and surrounding farmland, leaving much
of it burnt.
The Nigerian army, one of the biggest in Africa, should have little
difficulty scattering the amateur jihadists. But its arsenal is decrepit and
its troops poorly trained. Hence the government's decision to spend $1
billion on new aircraft and training, among other things. Critics question
how much will go towards appropriate kit (never mind how much gets stolen by
corrupt generals) and whether it is sensible to lavish resources on a force
implicated in atrocities and human-rights abuses.
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