Nigeria and four of its neighbors in West Africa declared war Saturday on the Islamic group Boko Haram, with the U.S., France, and the U.K. providing intelligence as Nigeria deploys 20,000 troops to its embattled north.

A few lone voices are calling for another kind of rapid deployment – economic development – in a region of Africa marked by poverty and growing tension between Islam and Christianity, according to an editorial in ChristianScienceMonitor.

Aliko Dangote, a Muslim from North Nigeria and the richest man in Africa said the best way to counter Boko Haram and other jihadists is by creating jobs, especially in areas of Nigeria where 80 percent of young men are unemployed.

Dangote launched a $10 million Safe School Initiative for Northeast Nigeria and now says he plans to create 180,000 jobs, mainly through multimillion-dollar investments in agriculture. Empowering young people to thrive is “the best recipe against terror,” he said.

Africa has the world’s youngest population, which is attractive to global investors seeking
low-wage workers. By the end of this century, Africa’s population is expected to exceed that of China, India, and Asia combined. Financial investments in the
continent increased fourfold since 2000, reaching $200 billion in 2013 according to an African Development Bank report released Monday.

Fewer African countries rely on foreign aid. In 2013 several countries raised $10 billion by selling bonds on the international financial market, up from $1 billion a decade ago — a sign of improved governance and less corruption.

“If the current pace of growth is sustained, foreign direct investment and portfolio investment could soon constitute Africa’s main source of financial flows,” the report said.

Economic growth in Africa exceeds Latin America’s and is close to Southeast Asia’s. Yet nearly half of Africans still live in poverty, especially in the Sahal region that runs through
Northeast Nigeria. While the Nigerian economy is Africa’s largest and is growing by more than 7 percent, it failed to bring prosperity to its largely Muslim north, making the area a breeding ground for radical groups such as Boko Haram.

Nigeria must make up for this neglect by deploying economic resources to its poorest region. Its most successful domestic investor, Dangote, put money into this effort. The government of President Goodluck Jonathan must follow. Sending more troops is not the best answer.