President John Mahama is courting the help of Germany to make contributions to a military force soon to be set up to confront the activities of terrorist group targeting Nigeria, Boko Haram.

The group is responsible for the abductions and killings of unspecified numbers of people especially in the northern part of Nigeria.

President Mahama, who is chairman of the sub-regional group ECOWAS, is currently visiting Germany. 

Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Mahama disclosed that a continental force will soon be put in place.

He said the continent would be able to contribute troops to counter the activities of Boko Haram but its force would need financial and logistical support from its European partners to successfully halt terrorism in Nigeria.

The Ghanaian president is hoping that once the idea is tabled at the African Union level, the continental body will pick it up and engage the United Nations and other partners in order to curb this menace.

President Mahama also revealed that Ghana is hoping to adopt Germany’s vocational training system, which puts emphasis on personal skills training.

He said Ghana’s educational system places emphasis on university education, but there is a stronger demand for middle-level skilled manpower by employers than graduates with academic certificates.

Ghana, he said is now encouraging people to go into technical and vocational training.

President Mahama had earlier held discussions with the Federal President of Germany, Joachim Gauck. He was accompanied to the meetings by Foreign Minister Hanna S. Tetteh, Communications Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Education Minister Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman and Ghana's Ambassador to Germany, Akua Sena Dansua. 

President John Mahama at a two-day high level coordination meeting of ECOWAS partners last Friday suggested the synchronization of strategies in African States, to fight against terrorism and other human molestations.

He said terrorism was assuming different dimensions in different regions, and therefore needed concerted efforts to eliminate it.

He stated as the leader of the ECOWAS, he would organise a special session on terrorism in the forthcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to strategize against the menace.

Listen to Mahama and Merkel at the press conference